A swarm of college coaches stood outside the locker room occupied by the Bradley Central boys’ basketball team after the Bears routed Arts & Sciences 70-28 in the first round of the Times Free Press Best of Preps tournament Thursday at Chattanooga State.
Bradley Central seniors Caiden Bauldwin and Tyrese Stovall had just shown why area college programs are pursuing their talents, with both players helping produce an utterly dominant performance.
The 6-foot-5 Bauldwin shined in front of a packed gymnasium as his driving layup off the left block just more than two minutes into the third quarter gave him 21 points and 11 rebounds as Bradley Central (7-6) built a 45-15 lead as a part of a 16-0 run. The former Chattanooga Christian School standout finished the game 9-of-11 from the field, which included a three-point play off a perfect long bounce pass from Stovall, who’s 6-7.
Bauldwin, who added three steals along with a block, has averaged 3.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per game to help the Bears to a 7-2 record in games in which he has appeared.
“I take pride in my defense the most because defense wins championships,” he said. “I had been out for the last four games with a concussion, and I just wanted to go out there and give it my all.