Hilliard Bradley boys continue streak with win over South Bulldogs
Saturday, January 6, 2024
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Hilliard Bradley’s Cade Norris drives against Columbus South’s Saviontay Vancleaf on Jan. 6 at Africentric’s The Challenge. Photo: John Hulkenberg
The set of afflictions the Hilliard Bradley boys basketball team has dealt with this season moved further into the past against Columbus South on Saturday.
The Jaguars dealt with injuries, illness and roster instability early on while losing two of their first three but have since won six in a row, including defeating the Bulldogs 65-35 in the second game of The Challenge at Africentric.
Included in the current stretch of success was a 55-38 victory over Olentangy Liberty on Friday, with the win over South improving Bradley’s record to 7-2 overall.
“To play a tough league game the night before and to get off to that kind of start … we’ve only been healthy for about two weeks,” coach Brett Norris said. “Our preseason was filled with injuries, pink eye, COVID, a little bit of everything, so I feel like we’re just starting to find our groove. … Two of our guys played football, and our football team played in the final four. We just didn’t have much time until the last 14 days to get on the floor.”
Bradley scored the first eight points against South and built a 25-2 lead by the end of the first quarter, with senior guard Andrew Lamb completing a four-point play and senior guards Jeb Bischoff and Cade Norris both making one 3-pointer during the period.
In the second quarter, South senior guard Chris Stokes and sophomore wing player Gavin Griffin both hit 3-pointers and senior guard LaJames Washington scored eight points, but the Jaguars led 37-16 at the break.
Columbus South’s Maurice McCall (right) and Hilliard Bradley’s Gavin Lightning (24) go after a loose ball Jan. 6 at Africentric. Photo: John Hulkenberg
In the second period for Bradley, freshman guard Ben Mirgon hit a pair of 3-pointers and Cade Norris scored five points.
Mirgon didn’t practice throughout November and missed the season’s first six games with a back injury but is expected to play a key role now that he’s healthy.
“It feels good being back out on the court,” Mirgon said. “Being out for the first couple games, I’m just getting the rhythm back out on the court. A couple months ago, I had a back injury, but I just got back. The first game it took some time, but as soon as it got to the late game, it felt like I was finally back to playing basketball and it felt good to be back out there.
“Last night (against Liberty) was a huge win. We played great, and we just came out (against Linden) and started on a really hot start which put us out to a good lead. We just kept going on from there.”
Bradley stretched the lead to 54-24 with 5:20 remaining and got 3-pointers from senior Justin Brown and junior Carson Sayre while closing it out.
“When you play like a team and you make it tough, most teams are driven by their offense,” Cade Norris said. “You make it tough on them offensively and their defense won’t be as good. We’ve got a group that plays together, plays hard, and our keys were to come out and get stops defensively. If we play well defensively, our offense will always take care of itself. We started fast and kept it going.
Hilliard Bradley’s Ben Mirgon works through traffic against Columbus South on Jan. 6 at Africentric’s The Challenge. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“We’re definitely trending in the right direction. We started out 1-2, but we’ve won six in a row now and getting Ben Mirgon back, it’s a big boost.”
Cade Norris, who signed in November to play for Illinois State, finished with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Mirgon, the younger brother of 2021 graduate and Miami University football player A.J. Mirgon, also scored 13.
“I know what the first quarter looked like today, but I think we’re far from what we can be,” coach Norris said. “I’m really excited about what we can be, and we’ve got to continue to work. We’ve faced adversity, and the first five games, quite frankly, we played poorly. At some point, the scars add character. I’m a big believer in that, and I’ve never felt like being undefeated is important. We’ve just got to get better, and sometimes, especially with teenagers, getting their tails kicked a little bit is a good thing.”
Griffin and Washington both scored 10 points for South, which is 6-3 overall and plays host to Walnut Ridge on Jan. 9 in a matchup of teams that are 4-0 in the City League-South Division.
Senior wing player Maurice McCall has been among the Bulldogs’ key players all season according to coach Ramon Spears along with Stokes, who joined the program this winter after transferring in from Patriot Prep.
“We’ve just got to get better at what we do,” Spears said. “We were just outmatched from the tip, so we’ve got to practice harder, and our focus has just got to better. One of the things that’s been positive about our start is that we’ve had some guys that have come off the bench and given us some good minutes, but consistency is what we need to focus on.”
Columbus South’s LaJames Washington moves against Hilliard Bradley on Jan. 6 at Africentric. Photo: John Hulkenberg