Ooltewah’s Antonio Jackson (1) drives past Bradley Central’s Matthew Whitmire Friday at Bradley Central.CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Ooltewah basketball coach Jesse Nayadley grew tired of experimenting with a zone defense against Bradley Central on Friday. He watched wearily as the Owls limped to a three-point first quarter, leading to a double-digit halftime deficit.
So he turned to what he knew would work well — man-to-man.
The Owls limited the Bears to nine points in the second half and were able to claim the District 5-AAA title outright with a 44-30 victory Friday at Jim Smiddy Arena. Ooltewah already had the top seed locked up based on a coin flip over the Bears and Cleveland, but Nayadley chose not to reveal that fact to his team, instead hyping the game as a district championship, winner-take-all affair.
Both teams had key players sit out — Jacqueze Robinson for Ooltewah and Logan Cox for Bradley.
After watching the Bears control the first half, Ooltewah (17-8, 10-2) dominated the second half. Bradley converted only four field goals and the Owls held a commanding 16-3 edge on the backboards, led by Andrew Ware, who finished with 12 rebounds.