Telegraph Staff Writer
Tez Williams’ pull-up jumper at the foul line was off the mark as the Bradford High School varsity team missed out on a chance at forcing overtime in a 51-49 loss to Clay on day two of the Lake Area McDonald’s-Kiwanis of Starke Christmas Basketball Tournament on Dec. 17 at BHS.
It was an exciting conclusion to a day that also saw Clay top Bradford 55-38 in a junior varsity matchup, Joshua Christian defeat Northside Christian 55-35 and Paxon start the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run en route to beating Jacksonville’s Hope Christian 51-45.
Today is the final day of the three-day tournament. Bradford’s JV team gets it started with a game against Riverside at 4 p.m. Clay plays Northside Christian at 5:30 p.m., followed by Hope Christian and Suwannee playing at 7 p.m. The action concludes with Bradford’s varsity team playing Paxon at 8:30 p.m.
The Tornadoes (2-1) trailed by 11 points in the first quarter, but a three-pointer by Robbie Simmons-Godwin was the start of an 8-0 run that carried over into the second quarter and pulled Bradford within three.
A 6-0 run to close the second quarter sent the Tornadoes into halftime trailing 24-23. Simmons-Godwin scored the first two baskets of the run, with the second coming off a steal by Chalil Cummings. Cummings then had another steal, which eventually led to points when Williams scored off an offensive rebound before the buzzer.
Simmons-Godwin and Williams combined to score 11 points in the third quarter. Shayne Davis drove to the basket for a score, getting fouled in the process, with 24 seconds left in the third quarter. He made the ensuing free throw to put Bradford ahead 37-35, but Clay’s D’maurion Frazier scored to even the score going into the final quarter.
Clay (3-3) missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity with 1:09 to play and a 49-48 lead. Bradford’s Davis made two free throws 16 seconds later to put the Tornadoes ahead 49-48.
Each team had an 0-for-2 trip at the foul line in the final 30 seconds, but the Tornadoes’ misses with 19 seconds remaining proved to be more costly.
The Blue Devils J’den Golding drove to the basket for a score, getting fouled in the process, with 12.8 seconds on the clock. He made the free throw to put Clay ahead 51-49, leaving Bradford with one possession to either tie or win the game.
Simmons-Godwin and Williams finished with 16 and 12 points, respectively, while Cummings had 10. Davis scored eight points, with Hunter Crawford adding two. Amari Jones chipped in one point.
