BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Bradford High School got a huge first-half performance from Maliki Cobarris and put together a 17-2 run in the second half in defeating visiting Union County 67-56 in a boys basketball game on Dec. 19.
Cobarris scored 23 of his game-high 31 points in the first half as the Tornadoes handed the Tigers their first loss.
Union (5-1) led several times in the first quarter. Adrian Manns had consecutive baskets, scoring off a Jaylen Pierre assist and rebound putback to put the Tigers ahead 9-7. Manns added a free throw to give Union a three-point lead.
The Tornadoes (3-1) got a steal from Jy’Quez Cason that led to a Cobarris three-pointer, putting Bradford up 14-12. Bradford maintained its lead the rest of the way.
A three-pointer by R.J. Odom Jr. left the Tigers trailing by only one, but the Tornadoes scored the first eight points of the second quarter. Cobarris scored off a steal, made two free throws and then added two consecutive baskets, making the score 24-15.
Union later made it a four-point game, getting one free throw from Garrison Smith and two free throws each from Pierre and Montrell Woods.
Bradford closed out the half by scoring six straight points. After two Cobarris free throws, Kemontae Nixon scored off an offensive rebound. Nixon then grabbed a rebound on the defensive end and fired a pass downcourt to Cobarris, who scored to give the Tornadoes a 34-24 lead.
The Tornadoes went ahead by 11 points several times early in the third quarter, but the Tigers made it a seven-point game, with Tyrese Chandler knocking down a jump shot and Odom scoring two straight baskets.
A Steven Carter three-pointer helped put Bradford back up by double digits. The Tornadoes then began their 17-2 run, which began late in the third quarter. Cobarris sank two free throws, while Nixon drained a three-point shot. Bradford’s Breion Johnson and Union’s Pierre each had a basket to make it a 50-35 game going into the fourth.
The final quarter’s first points came off a Cobarris three-pointer. After Pierre made a free throw for the Tigers, K.J. Taylor made a three-point shot for the Tornadoes. Taylor added a two-point basket after a free throw by teammate Dylan Ruise to put Bradford ahead 59-36.
Woods scored seven points late in the game to help Union whittle the final margin to 11.
Nixon joined Cobarris in double figures with 13 points, while the Tornadoes also got eight from Johnson, seven each from Carter and Taylor and one from Ruise.
Johnson and Nixon each grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Tigers got 12 points from Odom and 11 each from Manns and Woods. Pierre added nine points, while Union also got six from Chandler, four from Jackson Andersen-Davis and three from Smith.
Manns led the Tigers in rebounds with nine.
Bradford will play in The True Force Shootout, hosted by Santa Fe High School at Alachua’s Legacy Park Multipurpose Center. The Tornadoes’ first game in the three-day event will be against Taylor County on Saturday, Dec. 27, at 2:15 p.m.
Union plays at Lafayette on Monday, Dec. 22, at 7:30 p.m. and then travels to play Clay on Monday, Jan. 5, at 7:30 p.m.
