Bradley Central High School’s Bryce Copeland (10) drives towards the basket during the first half of play in Cleveland, Tenn., Friday evening.CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The Bradley Central boys’ basketball team has struggled in close games this season, with its five losses coming by a combined 17 points. Friday night the Bears started to find a solution for that problem: Don’t let the game get close to begin with.
Spurred by a defense that forced 10 first-quarter turnovers and four players scoring in double figures, the Bears earned a 76-49 District 5-AAA victory over McMinn County at Jim Smiddy Arena.
“It’s good to get a win,” Bradley guard Bryce Copeland said. “We know it’s going to take some time. We’ve had some new faces and we just hadn’t played well at times, but we’re starting to jell a bit, and I expect us to be better down the road.”
The Bears (4-5, 2-2) never were seriously threatened, taking a double-digit lead in the first six minutes of the contest and leading 18-13 after a quarter.
The Cherokees stayed that close due primarily to the shooting of forward Austin Hayes, who hit three of his five 3-point baskets in a two-minute span in the first and second quarters. His fourth 3 made it 28-22 with 3:53 remaining in the first half, but Bradley went on a 15-3 run over the next three minutes and led by 15 at the break.