Overcoming several emotional distractions, Bradley Central held off Howard to claim their first district championship under third-year head coach Zach Carpenter, Saturday evening on the Jim Smiddy Arena "Black Hole" hardwood.
In a game that saw five technical, plus an intentional, among 39 foul whistles, the Bears persevered for a 76-58 on the strength of early and late runs.
"It wasn't something you see all the time, but we were able to adjust and adapt throughout the game and move forward," remarked Coach Carpenter after the victory and receiving his Coach of the Year award.
"We did a great job sharing the ball (16 assists) and guys were ready to shoot (51.4% on two-pointers and 34.6% from distance) when they got the ball. We had five guys score in double figures. They're a great group and are fun to watch."
Reaching the 20-win plateau and the District 6-4A title in hand, Bradley (20-8) earns the right to host the Region 3 Tournament, which will tip off on Saturday.
The Bears will take on either archrival Cleveland (6-17) or oldest rival McMinn County (13-13) in the opening round. The Blue Raiders and Cherokees will tangle Tuesday in the District 5-4A consolation game to see which will travel to Bradley and which to Howard (10-14).
The other opening round games will be hosted by ninth-ranked Rhea County (26-6) and Walker Valley (18-10), which will battle for the District 5 crown Tuesday evening.
The victor will entertain Ooltewah (4-20) while the runner-up hosts East Hamilton (6-22) in Saturday's region opener before the semifinal and championship action moved to Smiddy Arena. The Hurricanes blew past the Owls 87-50 in the District 6 consolation game.
BEARS 76
TIGERS 58
Bradley roared out of the cave with 14 of the game's opening 18 points to push the difference to double digits in first 4 1/2 minutes.
After a Howard time out to stem the tide, the Hustlin' Tigers responded with a 6-3 run, but after it was capped by a steal and fastbreak slam dunk, the game's first technical foul was called for "taunting" for the players reaction afterwards.
The hosts turned the situation into a five-point swing as senior Alex Walker sank the free throws and then on the ensuing position classmate Damarius Ballard put back in an offensive rebound for a hoop-and-some-harm, which he converted into a three-point play.
Bradley closed out the opening frame by doubling up the visitors 26-13 at the buzzer.
After the Bears stretched their advantage to 17 points in the second frame before the Chattanooga crew bounced back to not only match the hosts in the eight-minute span (16-16), but also took an 18-17 edge in the third period.
With the opening bucket of the final frame, Howard closed the gap to just 10 points. However, Bradley bounced back with a 12-2 streak to push the difference to 20 and never looked back.
Senior Dee Reid led the victors with 16 points, sinking 7-of-11 attempts, plus he cleared the glass for eight rebounds, dished out four assists, blocked a shot and copped a steal.
District Tournament MVP Ramerion Taylor was right on his heels with 15 points, including a trio of treys, plus four caroms, four helps and a pair of thefts.
Walker, who was named to the All-Tournament team, drilled a couple of triples, plus went 4-for-4 at the charity stripe for a dozen points, while classmate Jarrius Rogers garnered 11 points, dished out a trio of "dimes" plus swiped a pair of steals.
Celebration his birthday, senior Jackson Ary capped his All-Tournament performance with 10 points, seven ricochets, a trio of thefts and three assists, plus he blocked a shot.
Rounded out the Bear All-Tournament performances, District Player of the Year Tyrese Stovall pulled down 10 boards, netted 3-of-5 shots for seven points, plus "swatted" a half dozen Howard shot attempts.
Ballard helped out with five points, making 2-of-3 shots, plus a free throw, cleared five caroms and handed out a pair of helps.
Bradley won the battle of the boards by a 37-33 margin, plus copped 11 steals in forcing 22 Howard turnovers. The Bears committed 16 miscues with the Tigers picking seven thefts.
