Bradley vs. Cleveland

[Fanatic15]

What about how many people were there as well. That place was packed. I was standing outside with hundreds of people waitin to get in but they said it was already standin room only during the first quarter of the girls game!!! Then i found someone i knew and got in a back way...legally. When i walked in the amount of people blew me away. They need to move that game to a bigger arena. Wow it was impressive and loud. Both sets of fans represented there schools well!!!

[chargerchick]

Congradulations Bradley!!! I was rooting for you from the stands! Way to come in and beat Cleveland for the first time this season on their home floor. Everyone who played did awesome. I just have one quick question for anyone, does anyone know Wes Suitor's e-mail address?

[BackyardLegend]

Well...Bradley/Cleveland I is over and by the scoreboard's standard, Bradley won the game by 4 points in 3 overtimes. As a true hoops fan, neither team lost tonight. In fact; neither team deserved to lose. In all of my years following this rivalry, I've never seen so much heart by two teams. I've probably seen more talent, but never have I seen sooo much heart by everyone involved. Even both coaching staffs were completely exhausted.

 

The epitome of heart goes out to Bradley guard Kellen Pickel. Kellen made play after play all night long. His plays seemed to come strategically when his teammates needed them. He became fatigued in the fourth quarter. During one of the overtimes, he made the comment that his legs were killing him. Later during the second overtime; he complained that his legs were cramping. During the third overtime; after hitting a baseline jumper, he finally succumbed to cramps. He hit the floor in agony, and had to be helped off the floor. After sitting out for about a minute, he came back in and finished the game. Thank you Kellen Pickel, for giving it your all! As a fan...I truly appreciate your effort.

 

Cleveland wasn't without it's Purple Heart recipients. Detrus Graham and James Cogdill fought their hearts out in the overtime periods when they were so badly outmanned. Tim Cooper, Trey Sharp, and Charles Little all fouled out. Both Detrus and James didn't want to quit. They both left it out on the court for the Raiders.

 

The game was full of plays that will always be remembered. Charles Little's high flying dunks and Justin Hare's coast to coast play to force another overtime. Trey's baseline dunk was "ruthless" (pardon the ebonics).

 

What were the keys to Bradley's win? First, they shot the ball extremely well...especially in the first half. Next, Chris Brown's intentional foul on Charles Little. Chris shouldn't have taken Charles out like that, but I know Chris, and I don't think that Chris' intentions were to hurt Charles. If Chris doesn't foul there and Charles dunks...then Cleveland could've had a pretty big run there. Instead, Charles only hits one of the free throws and Bradley steals the ball on the next possession. As stated earlier; Justin Hare's coast-to-coast play was a jaw dropper. Another big key play was Bradley stealing Jay Davis' attempt at an alley oop to Trey Sharp in overtime. Cleveland had the ball and the lead. That play probably shouldn't have even been attempted. Obviously; the biggest play was when Cleveland lost Charles, Trey, and Tim via the foul route.

 

In closing; Congratulations out to Kent Smith, his coaching staff, and his team! They did what it took to win the game. I was fortunate enough to get into the game for free, but that was a game that everyone got more than their money's worth. I can hardly wait til they play again! Thanks again to both teams! That was an awesome display!

 

Until next time....the BackyardLegend is outta here!

[baconbreath]

I have seen every Bradley Central vs Cleveland game since they began playing and this one will go down as the greatest ever. From every aspect it had so many dramatic moments that it made it almost unbearable to watch and endure. The fire marshall closed the doors at the start of the girls game. The intense heat inside made it miserable to fans and how the players made it through three overtimes is beyond belief. Hats off to both squads!

 

There were dunks, long-range 3-pointers, five players fouled out, and on and on it goes.

 

Not enough can be said for the talented players in this game. Tim Cooper was 0-6 from the floor in the first half and finished with 22 points, simply putting his team on his shoulders and carrying them in the 2nd half. Charles Little had three monster dunks in the first half and 12 rebounds for the game. James Cogdill performed his usually self-sacrifice and Detrus Graham and Levonte Barber gave Coach Aaron Green much needed help off the bench. Jay Davis had 17 in the second half and Trey Sharp had one of his strongest games as a Blue Raiderwith 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 of 8 from the free line before fouling out in the 2nd OT.

 

For the victorious Bradley Bears, heroes were everywhere as well. Justin Hare with 25 points and a game saving coast-to-coast drive withh 5.9 seconds to send the game into the 2nd overtime was phenomenal. Justin never left the floor for a single second the entire game. Kellen Pickel with 22 points and key steals never left the floor until cramps in both legs struck him in the 3rd overtime just as his base-line shot played string music to give Bradley a 2-point lead at 86-84. Bradley's bench strength played a vital role when Ya-Ya Hammonds swished two long 3-pointers and Chris (Downtown) Brown dialed long-distance for his trey. But maybe the unsung hero was the young sophomore Wes Suiter. Wes finished with 19 points including 11 of 12 at the free throw line, seven that were made during the overtime periods.

 

Don't forget that Bradley Central has ZERO seniors on it's roster.

 

There will be many more games played between these two fine schools but this is one that fans will talk about for years to come. They simply don't get any better than what was witnessed at the Dome on Saturday night! These two will tip it off again at Bradley Central on Valentine's Day. Might I suggest that you plan on getting there early. Even cavernous Jim Smiddy area will be packed to the rafters for the encore performance. And let's not even think about the district and region tournaments to be played at Cleveland!

 

By the way, 23smom, your recap was exhilirating!

[tnwareagle]

What a game!!!!!!!!!!! Great kids, great players and great coaches. Even the fans for both teams were great! But IF this should be the matchup in the district finals, I hope that CHS will turn the air on in their new facility. I know it has air, because during the Hall of Fame games, they froze everyone out. What was the deal Saturday?

[nick32]

I have been to numerous Bradley/Cleveland games over the past years and must say that this was the best boys game that I have seen. The girl's game ranks up there with last year's girls game as one of the best in recent years. I must say that the Cleveland administration did a poor job of circulating air in the gym during the boys game. Yes, I think I felt the air during the girls game and then noticed the time that it went off. It never came back on. There were no doors open either. But, the game was so exciting that all of us true fans endured the misery for the excitement. Hare, Pickel, and Cooper, true all-state material. If any of these three are looked over, it will be a shame. Suitor and Little, both stars in the making, just sophomores too. Bradley's Pugh, don't underate the guy. He has heart and can help Bradley to a possible state tourney appearance. In fact, I wouldn't ba at all surprised if both these teams made an appearance in the state either this season or next considering the youth on each team. I agree with the statement made by BYLegend, that there were many heroes of the three OT game. Cooper and his second half heroics, Little and his crowdpleasing dunks, Hare's full court lay-up with little opposition from CHS's defense, Pickel and two very crucial steals that resulted in scores for Bradley, Suitor's free-throws, and the bench for both teams. To come in and play in a game such as this is an awesome accomplishment. I was impressed with both teams. Is Cleveland overrated as I saw a couple of Bradley students holding signs that said? Probably not! My guess is that Bradley is simply not rated high enough. Both teams are legit to be in the top five. I can't wait till Valentine's Day. I am assuming that everyone else is anticipating that date too. I am going to add this to my thoughts about the gym situation, at the risk of making some people mad. Cleveland High is just too small to host a district and region tournament. Someone from Cleveland should have enough class to step up and forfeit the place and go with another setting. I know there is no way in ---- that CHS would allow cross county rival Bradley to host the tourney, but how about letting McMinn host it? Is is all a money thing? The gym is just too too small to seat the crowd that a district such as 5AAA will have.

[baconbreath]

The maintenance personnel were at CHS Monday before school even started. It was so cold that you could see your breath in the gym Monday night. Apparently several people complained about the heat to the powers that be.

[nick32]

Good. Maybe when the district happens it will be bearable in there.