BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School let a slim lead slip away, being outscored 15-3 in a 60-49 loss to host and top seed Newberry in the championship game of the District 3-3A boys basketball tournament on Feb. 7.
Despite the loss, the second seed Tornadoes (17-5) will receive an at-large bid to the Region 1 playoffs. The Florida High School Athletic Association has yet to announce seedings and matchups.
Bradford scored the first five points off a Kemontae Nixon layup and a Steven Carter three-pointer, but Newberry (19-3) went on a 17-2 run that extended into the second quarter. Colton Sembower scored the Panthers’ first six points, including two off a steal by Darius Debose. Another turnover led to a three-pointer by Henry Mathias. Newberry also got a three-pointer from Juwan Scippio, which helped the Panthers go into the second quarter leading 15-7.
A steal by Kai Washington led to a basket by Brandon Kelly that put Newberry up 17-7 early in the second quarter.
The Tornadoes missed eight straight field-goal attempts during the Panthers’ run before K.J. Taylor scored on a drive to the basket. Later, with Newberry leading 20-9, Taylor sank a three-point shot. That started a 7-2 Bradford run. Jy’Quez Cason had a basket in transition following a Maliki Cobarris defensive rebound, while Breion Johnson got a layup off a Jordan Cason assist. After the Panthers’ Mathias scored a bucket, Cobarris was successful on a drive to the basket, drawing a foul in the process. He made the ensuing free-throw attempt to leave the Tornadoes trailing 22-19.
The margin remained at three points at halftime.
An 8-1 run in the third quarter gave Bradford its first lead since the opening quarter. It began with a rebound putback by Cobarris. Newberry then missed three field-goal attempts on its ensuing possession before Cobarris stole the ball, leading to a layup by Jy’Quez Cason. Another Cobarris steal led to an eventual score by Nixon, putting the Tornadoes ahead 31-30. After Scippio made a free throw for the Panthers, Jordan Cason had a basket to put Bradford up 33-31.
Newberry made 5 of 6 free throws in the latter stages of the third quarter to take a 36-35 lead.
A three-pointer by Nixon gave the Tornadoes a 44-43 lead. A turnover led to a layup by Sembower that put the Panthers back on top, but Bradford answered with a basket by Dylan Ruise, making it 46-45 in favor of the Tornadoes.
It would be the last lead for the Tornadoes, who were outscored 15-3 in the final 3:48. Bradford went 1 of 4 from the field during that span, committing five turnovers, while Newberry made 13 of 16 free-throw attempts.
Cobarris led the Tornadoes with 16 points. Nixon scored seven points, while Jordan Cason and Jy’Quez Cason each had six. Bradford also got five points from Taylor, four from Ruise, three from Carter and two from Johnson.
