The Bradford Owls have to wonder what might have happened if
they’d been able to score even 10 points in that third quarter.

As it were, Bradford managed only six points in the period and
made a mountain that was just a little too steep in falling to the
Class AAAA State College Lions 67-62 Saturday.

The Lions pulled away for a 19-point margin at 55-36 with 6:10
left to play and the Owls put together an exciting rally, scoring
28 fourth-quarter points to make a game of it.

“The kids made a heck of a comeback,” declared Dave Fuhrman, BHS
coach. “A 19-point hole is a big hole to try to dig out of in one
quarter and our guys almost did it.

“The guys really picked it up and made a heck of a run. I’m
proud of our guys’ effort.”

Junior guard Tommy Morris hoisted his teammates on his shoulders
in the first and by the 2:47 juncture it was Morris 11, State
College 8. Number 12 drilled a trio of trifectas and two free
throws for the early three-point edge.

The visitors got the offense moving in the second and outscored
the Owls 22-10 to grab a seven-point, 35-28 advantage at
halftime.

Bradford faltered in the third quarter and it was 51-34 State
College going into the final eight minutes.

“We looked real tentative in the third,” Fuhrman admitted. “We
looked scared and I think they (State College) sensed it because
that was when they took control of the game.”

Bradford senior Grant Ferguson had a mind to rock State
College’s grip on that control when he nailed one from downtown
with 6:00 left.

The three-ball seemed innocuous enough until 40 seconds later,
after a Shane Hvizdzak 12-footer, when Ferguson canned another from
deep and suddenly the deficit was only 13 points, 57-44.

“Grant came in and made those two threes – that’s where the run
started,” Fuhrman recalled. “He got us going.”

The Lions responded with six points, but a Morris three and an
elbow jumper by Eric Arnett kept it at 14, 63-49 with 3:37
remaining.

Then Hvizdzak went glass, Arnett sank a turn-around and Ben
Lanich converted a put-back to make it 63-55.

At the 1:25 juncture Morris scored with a rainbow jumper over
the outstretched arms of State’s Division I prospect, center Eric
Meister.

Hvizdzak was in the right place at the right time with 50 ticks
to go when he scored off an offensive rebound and it was 63-59
State.

The Lions’ Mitch Rhyner hit both ends of a 1-and-1, but a
Hvizdzak three in the face of the visitors’ defense made it
65-62.

At this point the Lions enjoyed the double-bonus and Andrew Kerr
sank both freebies on the next BHS foul to seal the 67-62
triumph.

So despite the spirited comeback, the rally wasn’t enough to
overcome the poor second and third quarters.

“We weren’t shooting good in the second quarter and they were
able to get that lead on us at halftime,” Fuhrman explained. “The
last two to three minutes of the second and the (entire) third
quarter were where we lost the game.

“You’ve gotta play 32 minutes against a team like this. They’re
too talented for us to take a quarter off.”

For State College, Kerr scored 16 points, Brook Hart added 15
and Meister was limited to 12.

“Lanich guarded him most of the night and played him pretty
good,” Fuhrman praised. “A sophomore, Ben held him to 12
points.”

Pacing the Owls on the stats sheet were Arnett (10 points, 7
rebounds), Lanich (9 points, 6 rebounds), Hvizdzak (16 points, 7
assists, 3 steals) and Morris (19 points, 3 steals).

“We did a good job on the boards,” Fuhrman continued. “We’re
starting to come around in the rebounding department and our
defense is starting to get a little better.”

The visitors were on fire even while playing in unfamiliar
surroundings. The Lions converted 61 percent of their shots
(25-for-41, 7-for-12 from deep).

“They shot pretty well for playing on an away court,” Fuhrman
noted. “That says a lot for the kind of team they have, too.

“But, we’ll get more out of playing a game like this than
playing a weaker team.”

The Owls, now 13-9, will get a bit of a reprieve after wrapping
up a stretch in which they played seven games in 11 days. They
return to action Friday at DuBois for a final District 9 League
game.