Top-ranked Cleveland boys follow No. 1 Bradley girls in fending off threats

Cleveland's Grant Hurst (11) steals the ball from Bradley Central's Ashton Boyd in the host and state No. 1 Blue Raiders' win Monday night at Cleveland High School.
Cleveland's Grant Hurst (11) steals the ball from Bradley Central's Ashton Boyd in the host and state No. 1 Blue Raiders' win Monday night at Cleveland High School.

Top-ranked Cleveland stretched its undefeated season start to 22-0 as JaCobi Wood's teammates fired up the senior leader to help close out a 63-49 home victory in a storied crosstown rivalry game Tuesday night.

After Bradley Central 6-foot-5 standout Tray Curry muscled his way to the hoop and cut the deficit midway through the fourth quarter, Wood took the ball downcourt and caught a glimpse of his sideline to the left as he launched from deep.

Wood found nothing but nylon on his NBA-range 3-point dagger. That was the beginning of a stretch of seven straight points for the Belmont signee, as he followed with two drives to the rim to put the game out of reach late.

"I just try to keep a killer instinct and a tunnel vision every time I play this game that I love so much," said Wood, who finished with 24 points. "My teammates believe in me and want me to take those shots. We all believe in each other, and that has gotten us to where we are.

"I saw all of my teammates put up their hands for a 3 before I shot that one late. We are all together and a family."

Tennessee's lone undefeated Class AAA team one-upped its win streak of 21 games that propelled the Blue Raiders from an ugly end to a 2018 Christmas tournament to Murfreesboro for the 2019 state final eight.

Blue Raiders senior Mo Schramm continued to bring it on both ends of the court as he helped his team improve to 8-0 in District 5-AAA play.

Schramm leaped high at the sideline to steal a pass and then sent a bullet downcourt to Wood for a layup to energize the crowd and build a commanding 45-29 lead with 3:29 left in the third quarter. The 6-foot-3 versatile weapon finished with 18 points.

Cleveland junior Kley McGowan nailed a trio of 3-point bombs and scored 15 points.

"All you can want to do from year to year is improve," McGowan said. "We are trying to push ourselves to greater heights than we did in 2019. We all know our roles and trust each other. And when it comes down to it late, I know I can pass it to JaCobi to help close it out."

Curry led the Bears (14-5, 6-2) with 18 points.

Bearettes 53, Lady Raiders 41

For the second game in a row without last year's Class AAA state tournament MVP, Jamaryn Blair, the No. 1 Bradley Central girls fought to victory despite facing motivated opposition for three and a half quarters.

Seeing an open court ahead, senior Anna Walker sprinted down the floor and let out a loud war-like cry after hitting a layup while being fouled. Her three-point play gave the Bearettes (18-3, 8-0) a 41-35 lead with four minutes left in a quarter in which Cleveland could not score until there was a minute left.

Walker finished with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. She combined with junior bigs Anna Muhonen and Alexis Barnes to shoot 15-of-21 (.714) from the field while outscoring Cleveland 44-41.

With pressure to perform in Blair's departure from the team, Jamia Williams contributed eight points, seven rebounds and six assists. Williams hit six free throws as her team shot 20-of-29 from the line.

"Every great leader is always supportive and gives encouragement," said Walker, who helped the program extend its streak to 77 straight wins over district foes. "After all that happened this past week off the court, we still haven't changed our goals. We want to win state and end up in the glass house (the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro). We have come together and have shown unity.

"Our post trio is something that can really spark us. Alexis and Anna can both make great moves to the rim. A lot of people have stepped up lately. and that's exactly what we need."

Kara Williams scored a team-high 17 points for the Lady Raiders (15-8, 6-2), who received four steals from Megan Rouse.

Cleveland went on a 13-0 run from the end of the first quarter to 3:03 left in the second, which was highlighted by back-to-back 3s from Williams and Alexis Jackson.

But Bradley Central once again closed like it knows how to best.

"I think our reputation and with all of our success over the years can intimidate people," Walker said. "That's a really big factor when other teams play us. We also are a strong second half team this year, too."

Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.

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