CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Bradley Central did not need a momentum-swinging play to turn the tide. No one was called upon to hit a big shot. Tuesday night, it was all about the little things for the Bears.
They out-rebounded Cumberland County and hit free throws late to advance to the Region 3-AAA basketball semifinals with a 70-63 win.
"There wasn't really a defining moment tonight," Bears coach Chuck Clark said. "It was just a hard-fought, knock-down, drag-out win."
The disparity on the glass did not really show in the first half, but after nabbing 14 more rebounds than its opponent in the second half, Bradley won the battle on the boards 44-26. Most of those seemed to land in the hands of Ty Morgan, who was all over the court.
"He's just got a motor -- and I don't know how many times I've used that to describe him now -- that's just always on go," Clark said. "He just doesn't slow down."
Along with a stout rebounding effort, Morgan was one of four Bears scoring in double figures. He had 15 points.
"I just had to come out harder with two guys out," Morgan said. "They're important guys, and we wanted to pick them up. We haven't reached our goal yet."
The visiting Jets used two six-point runs to lead 15-13 after the first quarter, but the Bears used a 10-2 second-quarter spurt to take the lead and force a Cumberland timeout. Senior Daniel Clark was quiet in the first quarter but scored eight points in the second, and Bradley led 34-31 at halftime.
The game remained tightly contested throughout the second half, and Bradley led by double digits only once. Cole Copeland scored 15 of his 20 points in the final two quarters, with many coming from second chances off the glass.
"One thing we really got beat at tonight was offensive rebounds. They kicked our butts there," Jets coach Will Foster said. "We had some chances late but some shots didn't go in. My kids fought hard."
Copeland and Bradley McCurdy hit 10 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter to help the Bears keep their distance and maintain pressure on the Jets.
Cumberland County was led by David Elliot, Jordan Graham and Blake McLaughlin with 10 points each.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com