By HUNTER O. LYLE
BRADFORD, PA – Hosting the most prolific program in District 9, the Bradford boy’s basketball knew they were facing a tall task. Everyone knew Elk County Catholic was a perennial powerhouse and they lived up to the hype, dominating the Owls and dispensing a 55-27 defeat.
Headed by one of the greatest minds in Pennsylvania high school basketball, Aaron Straub, the Crusaders once again hit the ground running this season, collecting five wins in as many games entering Thursday’s contest. As they readied for the impending uphill battle, Bradford knew where their challenge would come from.
“We watched a lot of film on them. We tried to prepare on the ball-pressure side of things especially,” said Bradford head coach Andrew Terwilliger. “We were even running six defenders on our practice plan just to try to emphasize that ball pressure.”
Against a team notorious for patient, if not excessively so, offense, the Owls came out of the gates calm and composed. Using constant ball movement around the perimeter to scan the interior, as well as four offensive rebounds, Bradford took over a minute off the clock on their first possession, one that produced two points from Tyler Simmons.They then added to their early momentum with a steal and fast break score from Marcus Terwilliger.
However, the team they were facing was equally meticulous. After that initial turnover, ECC slowed the pace way down when in the half court. Up against Bradford’s zone defense, the Crusaders quickly moved the ball while striking cutters broke through the cluttered paint, eventually finding open space either inside or on the perimeter. Then their defense stole the spotlight.
Implementing a vicious full-court-press, as well as a renewed intensity on their on-ball coverage, the Crusaders quickly shut down Bradford’s offense. With the press speeding up the Owls and their in-your-face defense giving them no time or space to think, turnovers became a regularity. After giving up just one in the first handful of minutes – an early charge – Bradford soon struggled to cross halfcourt with the ball in hand, giving up five turnovers in the final three and a half minutes. ECC, on the other hand, ended the quarter on a 10-0 run, taking a 12-6 lead.
“We had a press break in the plan and it worked,” said Andrew Terwilliger, “but once we got the ball in we basically couldn’t get the ball up the floor.”
Despite the brief moment back at the drawing board, the Owls returned to the court still searching for answers. The pressure they faced was just too much as ballhandlers labored to get by defenders, let alone find an open passing or driving lane. Coupled with the sporadic full-court-press the Crusaders threw at them, Bradford’s attack smoldered.
Meanwhile, ECC seemed to get everything they wanted. Scoring swiftly in the open court off steals or calculated maneuvers in the half, the Crusaders tacked on six quick points as their opponents failed to respond. With turnovers again piling up – Bradford gave up seven in the second quarter – the Owls found the bottom of the net just twice before the half. Simmons broke the initial four-minute drought with a floater while Evan Troisi converted a fast break layup with roughly a minute to go. Being outscored 14-4, they looked up at a 16-point deficit heading into halftime.
In the next 16 minutes of play, the Owls tried a different tactic. With their jumpers and layups not falling, they leaned into their physicality. Instead of patiently passing around the perimeter looking for a lane to open up, Bradford quickly attacked the paint with head-down drives to the rim or by offloading passes to their postmen. Either way, they frequently earned trips to the free throw line.
“We recognized even before the game that we had to get points in the paint, so we had to get our touches to our bigs down low. It was just difficult to get the ball to them,” said Andrew Terwilliger. “Then when we did, we didn’t convert. We weren’t big in there. It was a physical game and we’ve never faced anything like that.”
Mid-way through the third, the strategy seemed to be working as they sparked a 6-1 run, their largest of the game. However, the Crusaders instantly clipped the Owls’ wings with more relentless defense. Coming away with three consecutive steals immediately after, ECC retaliated with an 8-1 run, ballooning the lead back to 19 with two and a half minutes remaining. Although Bradford found a few ways to score late in the period, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Marcus Terwilliger, the deficit in front of them still seemed mountainous.
To make matters worse for the Owls, and to all but seal the game if it hadn’t been already, ECC entered the final quarter with a pair of deflating 3-pointers. While Bradford scored once in between, their offense once again froze over, allowing the Crusaders to embark on a 11-0 run that put them ahead by 30.
Through the final fleeting minutes, Bradford chipped away at the lead but ultimately the efforts went in vain. By the sound of the final buzzer, they were waving their tattered white flag, losing by 28.
Marcus Terwilliger topped Bradford’s scorebooks, tallying 12 points alongside three steals and a block. Simmons ended with eight points, three rebounds and a steal while Danny Marasco had two points and five rebounds.
“I think we ended up with 23 turnovers. That can’t be where we’re at. The takeaway has to be how do we improve from that? You recognize that it happened but how do you improve?” said Andrew Terwilliger. “We talk about adversity a lot. We faced adversity tonight. Do you give up or stay in the fight? We have to stay in the fight. We’ll learn from it and we’ll try to adjust accordingly.”
AT BRADFORD
Elk County Catholic (55)
Simbeck 10 0-0 22, Breindel 8 1-1 17, Songer 3 0-0 7, Wasko 1 2-2 4, Muccio 1 0-0 2, Gilmore 1 0-0 2, Geci 0 1-2 1. Totals: 24 4-5 55
Bradford (27)
Terwilliger 3 5-8 12, Simmons 3 2-2 8, Roulo 1 0-0 2, Marasco 0 2-2 2, Troisi 1 0-1 2, Lohrman 0 1-2 1. Totals: 8 10-15 27
Elk County Catholic 12 26 41 55
Bradford 6 10 23 27
Three-point goals: ECC (3) Simbeck 2, Songer, BD (1) Terwilliger; Total fouls: ECC 14, BD 13; Fouled out: None.
JV: Elk County Catholic 49, Bradford 25
