Although it isn’t known as a hoops hotbed, Bradford High isn’t
going to surprise anyone in the PIAA tournament as the Class AAA
champion of District 9.

Coaches and teams still around in this second season are aware
that the Owls know what they’re doing this time of year, so don’t
expect Ambridge to take tonight’s contest lightly.

Bradford coach Dave Fuhrman has done his homework coming into
the first-round game and he and the Owls know what to expect from
the District 7 (WPIAL) third-place team.

“I’m pretty sure they’ll play us man-to-man, that’s their
bread-and-butter,” Fuhrman commented.

“They are very deliberate for as athletic as they are. They
don’t run up and down and they play pretty methodically running
their stuff. They are very disciplined.

“They’re going to pressure us and they’re a physical team. We’re
going to have to handle their pressure, run our half-court offense
and knock our shots down.”

Head coach Ron Rowan, who played collegiate basketball at Notre
Dame and St. John’s, led Ambridge to a 19-8 record in the 2006-07
campaign.

Ambridge’s best player is Slade Unis, a 5-11 point guard and
career 1,000-point scorer.

“He’s very good, very quick,” Fuhrman remarked. “He loves to
penetrate and he’s an excellent passer. We have to keep him out of
the lane.

“Tom Taylor will be guarding him so he’s got a tough
match-up.”

At the other guard spots are 6-1 Jared Gibson and 5-11 Frank
Karl.

“Gibson handles the ball well too, is very quick and shoots the
three pretty well. He’s their best defender,” Fuhrman observed.
“Karl is a standstill three-point shooter, he made 10 threes in a
game this year.”

Ambridge’s inside game revolves around 6-4 forward Zach
Delo.

“He’s exactly like Ben (Lanich), but he’ll step away from the
basket, too,” Fuhrman said. “He’s got shooting range from 15 feet
and in and he’s a good back-to-the-basket player.”

Other key players are 6-0 Frank Unis, 6-4 Robert Gaiton and 6-0
Travis Anderson.

“They like to spread the floor in the fourth if they’re ahead,
so we need to be ahead going in so they can’t spread us out,”
Fuhrman reasoned. “They would be a tough team to chase with good
ball handlers in Unis and Gibson.

“We’re going to have to do a good job on the boards, they are a
physical team, but there are a lot of pluses (for Bradford).

“They’re going to ride 3 1/2 hours on the bus, while we can walk
across the street and it should be a great crowd – 95 percent of
them there for us.”

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the University of Pittsburgh at
Bradford’s Sport & Fitness Center.