CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Cleveland and Bradley Central made the wait worth it.
In a boys' basketball game rescheduled from Jan. 23 due to winter weather conditions, Bradley Central toppled visiting Cleveland 88-86 Monday night in a game that lasted four overtimes.
"It was worth it for the fans," Bears coach Chuck Clark said. "I think they got their money's worth."
Junior forward Cole Copeland hit three big shots, with the first two of them buzzer-beaters that extended the game an extra four minutes each time. His last basket of the night was a long jumper from the left baseline with two defenders on him, and it sailed through with two ticks to tock in the fourth overtime.
"He hit three really tough shots," Cleveland coach Jason McCowan said. "Realize that we wanted to double (cover) him as soon as he touched the ball, so he hit it fading away over two people."
Copeland finished with 38 points, including four 3-pointers, and 25 rebounds. Senior Bradley McCurdy added 20 points, John Brown had 12 and Tyrell Pitner scored 11.
With the win, Bradley Central (19-5, 10-0 5-AAA) secured the top spot in the upcoming district tournament. The loss drops Cleveland into third place.
"It didn't matter the situation - up three, down two, up one, or tied - neither team seemed to be out of it," McCowan said. "It was really enjoyable watching the kids play and make plays for both teams."
The Raiders (14-5, 6-4) were led by 26 points from guard Cantrell Ware and 23 points from sophomore post player KK Curry. Guard TJ Constant added 13 points.
"I do have a cardiologist," Clark said. "But I have medication in case I need it. My heart was doing pretty good during the game."
It improved as the game progressed.
The Bears trailed 8-5 after a sluggish first quarter and were down 22-9 at one point in the second quarter before pulling within 27-16 at halftime.
Early in the second quarter, an official placed the ball on the baseline to start play. McCowan thought his player should have been headed to the free throw line.
"You can't hear in here," McCowan said, before calling timeout.
Cleveland scored its last three points of the half with no time on the clock when Curry sank free throws after getting fouled about 40 feet from the basket.
Bradley pulled within 40-37 at the end of three quarters. The Bears took their first lead of the game, 51-50 on a Copeland 3-pointer from the left wing with 3:41 to play.
His shots for the rest of the night proved that the left wing is one of his favorite spots on the floor.
The rivals went to overtime tied at 55. They went to another four-minute session tied at 65 when Copeland stopped and popped from atop the left wing with 4.6 seconds left.
Curry pulled off a shot similar to the more famous basketball-playing Curry (Stephen of the Golden State Warriors) when he swished a 40-footer at the end of the second overtime at the buzzer, just two seconds after McCurdy sent the student second into an "I believe we just won!" type of chant.
Copeland saved his best shot for last. He swished the game-winner over two defenders with 2.2 seconds left.
Cleveland had a desperation shot at time expired.
"It's about resiliency," Copeland said. "We had to keep coming back."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter @UchiyamaCTFP.