ST. MARYS — Bradford boys head coach Brian Hobbs couldn’t do much else but shake his head after looking up at the final buzzer after Friday’s game.
After putting up big numbers earlier this week, Hobbs’ Owls opened their District 9 League schedule with a season-low 22 points in a 38-22 loss to St. Marys.
“It was just a poor effort offensively tonight,” said Hobbs. “We didn’t finish strong at the basket which resulted in us taking just two free throws.”
Possibly another the big reason Bradford struggled was the loss of Donny Pattison early in the game.
“Donny injured his thumb in the first quarter and we just seemed to lose our toughness edge,” Hobbs explained. “He came out and told me he couldn’t grip the ball. He gives us that confidence to play. Not having him was just a huge loss.”
Bradford was in the game the first half, trailing 13-11 after one quarter and 17-16 at the half, but from that point St. Marys slowed the game down and the Owls just couldn’t put together a solid comeback.
“They got 10 offensive rebounds and we committed 14 turnovers,” Hobbs noted. “We just seemed to play back on our heels for some reason. We have to get better fundamentally.”
The Owls did not have a player in double figures, Steve Knowlton’s nine tallies leading the way.
St. Marys’ Luke Lasko’s 15 points led the Dutch.
Bradford (5-4, 0-1 D-9) will have its hands full on Monday with Coudersport coming to town. The Falcons will be gunning for a win after losing by one, 57-56, to Ridgway on Friday.
AT ST. MARYS
Bradford (22)
Manion 1 0-0 2, Babcock 1 0-0 2, Knowlton 3 0-0 9, Gigliotti 2 0-0 4, Kane 1 0-0 3, Nuzzo 0 0-2 2, Piscitelli 1 0-0 2, Pattison 0 0-0 0. Totals 9 0-2 22
St. Marys (38)
Luke Lasko 6 0-0 15, Parrish 1 2-2 4, Catalone 2 0-0 5, Cortina 2 2-2 6, Walker 1 2-3 5, Wilson 1 0-0 3. Totals 13 6-7 38
Bradford 11 16 18 22
St. Marys 13 17 25 38
Three-point goals: Bradford 4 (Knowlton 3, Kane ); St. Marys 6 (Lasko 3, Catalone 1, Walker 1, Wilson 1); total fouls: Bradford 13, St. Marys 10
JV: St. Marys 31-22
Elk Catholic 66, DuBois Catholic 42
ST. MARYS — Alex Breindel poured in 15 points and Bryce O’Leary added 13 to help Elk County Catholic dispatch DuBois CC and remain perfect on the season.
The Crusaders (9-0) were clicking on both ends of the court in the first half, jumping out to a 32-16 lead after 16 minutes.
“Thought the difference tonight as opposed to Wednesday (58-56 win over Kane) was converting steals into points and we also did a much better job of rebounding,” Elk CC coach Aaron Straub said.
The Crusaders are up next against Sheffield Monday.
AT ST. MARYS
DuBois CC (42)
Solnosky 1 0-0 2, Starr 1 0-0 3, Walker 1 0-0 2, Prosper 0 1-2 1, Meholic 3 0-0 8, Kurtz 4 0-0 9, Downer 1 0-0 2, Justin Miknis 7 0-0 15. Totals: 18 1-2 42
Elk Catholic (66)
Bryce O’Leary 5 0-1 13, Lindemuth 1 0-0 2, Wehler 1 0-0 2, Hoffman 1 0-0 2, Will Uberti 4 2-2 12, Bauer 0 0-2 0, Klawuhn 1 2-2 4, Wortman 4 0-0 8, Gregory 2 0-0 4, Schneider 2 0-0 4, Alex Briendel 6 0-0 15. Totals: 27 4-7 66
DuBois CC 6 16 28 42
Elk County 18 32 48 66
Three-point goals: ECC 8 (O’Leary 3, Uberti 2, Breindel 3), DCC 5 (Starr, Meholic 2, Kurtz, Miknis); total fouls: ECC 12, DCC 9. Fouled out: none
JV: 52-33 ECC
