BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School became the latest team to lose by at least 30 points to host Newberry, which defeated the Tornadoes 75-38 in the District 3-3A boys basketball championship game on Feb. 7.
The top seed Panthers (23-0) are beating teams by an average of 24 points per game and won their sixth straight game by at least 30 points. They earned the number-two seed in the Region 1 playoffs.
The region’s four district champions qualified for regional play, while the four highest non-district champion teams in the Florida High School Athletic Association/MaxPreps Region1-3A power rankings earned at-large berths. Bradford (16-5) was the fifth-highest ranked team that wasn’t a district champ, missing the playoffs by one spot.
Despite Newberry’s depth advantage — the Panthers sometimes sub out all five players on the court — the Tornadoes hung with the Panthers in the first quarter, making 6 of their first 9 field-goal attempts. Breion Johnson scored Bradford’s first points on a layup off a K.J. Taylor assist. Jordan Cason scored off an offensive rebound, while Taylor and Maliki Cobarris each had a basket to put the Tornadoes ahead 8-7.
Newberry’s Henry Matthias knocked down a three-point shot, but Cobarris answered by scoring on a drive to the basket and drawing a foul. Cobarris made the awarded free-throw attempt to give Bradford an 11-10 advantage.
Another three-pointer — this time by Juwan Scippio — put the Panthers up by two, but the Tornadoes tied it up when a Taylor steal led to a Cason basket off a Jy’Quez Cason assist.
The Panthers scored the final nine points of the first quarter to take a 22-13 lead. During that span, the Tornadoes went 0 for 4 from the field and committed three turnovers.
Cobarris sank a three-point shot to start the second quarter, but the Panthers then scored seven straight. The Panthers’ Collin Dunmore missed a layup after a Darius Debose steal, but redeemed himself by dunking the ball following another Debose steal. After Newberry’s Kaleb Woods made two free throws, Matthias missed a three-pointer. Jacob Green rebounded the miss, however, and Matthias got the ball back for another three-point attempt, which was successful and put the Panthers ahead 29-16.
Bradford made 5 of 7 field-goal attempts in the second quarter, but hurt itself with 11 turnovers.
The Panthers closed the second quarter with a 10-4 run and went into halftime leading 39-24.
Both teams struggled shooting to start the second half, with their only points in the first 3.5 minutes coming at the foul line, with Jordan Cason making one free throw and the Panthers’ Matthias and Scippio each making two.
Bradford’s Jy’Quez Cason made the first field goal of the third quarter, but his basket was answered by a Scippio three-pointer.
Newberry put together a 13-2 run that sent them into the fourth quarter leading 56-29.
Jordan Cason led Bradford with 18 points, while Cobarris had 10. The Tornadoes also got four points from Taylor and two each from Johnson, Caiden Carn and Jy’Quez Cason.
Four players scored in double figures for the Panthers: Scippio with 18, Matthias with 12 and Dunmore and Kai Washington each with 10.
