With his Owls trailing St. Marys by five entering the fourth quarter, Bradford head coach Brian Hobbs felt his team would be able to get back into the game.

Then again, Bradford had been in that position before.

With a come-from-behind, double-overtime win over Olean already under their belt, the Owls surged back in the fourth quarter again, this time for a 53-49 win over St. Marys in D9 League play Friday night.

The win gives Bradford (6-2, 1-0) its first D9 League win of the season, and marks St. Marys’ (2-6, 0-2) fifth loss in a row.

“The guys stepped up,” Hobbs said. “We were down seven at one point, but with experience, we’ve figured out that when we’re down seven, or when we were down 12 against Olean, we just have to keep grinding and do what we have to do to execute.”

The Owls certainly executed down the stretch Friday night. After scoring 27 points through the game’s first three quarters, including just five and six in the second and third, respectively, Bradford poured in 26 in the fourth to surge back.

That comeback started with a 9-0 run to begin the quarter that put Bradford up 36-32 with 4:20 to play.

“For two quarters, we didn’t score,” Hobbs said. “But we figured out that the ball will go through the hoop if we execute. That (run) was super important, and it gave us the momentum that we needed to finish out the fourth quarter.”

After St. Marys knotted the game back up, 39-39, Bradford began taking back over. Tyler Gigliotti hit back-to-back layups, including an and-1 on the second, to put Bradford back up 44-39, and then the Owls used free throws down the stretch to maintain the lead.

Bradord went 12-for-16 from the charity stripe in the fourth and 21-for-29 throughout the night. St. Marys, meanwhile, sank just five of 11 free throw attempts in the fourth and finished 14-for-24 overall.

Gigliotti led the Owls with an 11-for-15 performance from the stripe, and finished with a game-high 27 points, his fifth game of the year with 20 or more. Caleb Nuzzo added six points, including a 4-for-5 free throw performance.

“We played composed, and we were confident at the foul line,” Hobbs said. “I think that’s unlike St. Marys to shoot free throws like that… But if a team is missing free throws, you feel more comfortable. With those misses came rebounds that we really needed.”

Indeed, Bradford out-rebounded the Flying Dutchmen 41-25, and gave up just one offensive board in the fourth quarter.

Evan Schmidt led the Owls with 15 rebounds, while Peyton Manion (7 points) had seven rebounds and Cam Austin (9 points) had six boards.

Bradford had jumped out to a 16-10 lead through the first quarter, before St. Marys trimmed that lead to 21-18 entering halftime. After the Dutch took a 32-27 lead entering the fourth quarter, Hobbs said the Owls adjusted their offense some to create more space for scorers.

“We wanted to get guys in space, so we changed our floor balance a little bit,” he said. “Then (Gigliotti) was able to get loose, and Peyton Manion did a nice job of making cuts to the basket. I thought (Manion) finished well, and then free throws down the stretch were big.”

Cahil Parrish led St. Marys in scoring with 18 points, and Mitchell Reiter added 13. The loss marks the third game in a row that the Dutchmen have lost by five or fewer points.

Neither team had a particularly strong night from the field. Bradford went 15-for-42 (36%) while St. Marys went 16-for-46 (35%). There were only five made three-pointers on the evening.

“I think we were two pretty good defensive teams, and that definitely showed in the first three quarters,” Hobbs said. “We just found a niche there in the fourth and attacked the basket a little bit better. We got our guys in space, and they finished.”

The Owls won’t get to rest on their laurels by any means. Bradford hosts Johnsonburg (5-4) tonight, and the Rams also feature a win over St. Marys. The Dutchmen, meanwhile, will visit Jburg Monday.

AT BRADFORD

St. Marys (49)

Cahil Parrish 6 5-8 18, Mitchell Reiter 5 2-3 13, Catalone 1 5-6 7, Housler 1 2-2 5, Nunes 1 0-3 2, Lasko 0 0-2 0, Walker 1 0-0 2, Caskey 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 14-24 49

Bradford (53)

Tyler Gigliotti 7 11-15 27, Austin 4 1-2 9, Manion 3 1-3 7, Knowlton 0 2-2 2, Schmidt 0 2-2 2, Nuzzo 1 4-5 6. Totals: 15 21-29 53

St. Marys 10 18 32 49

Bradford 16 21 27 53

Three-point goals: SM 3 (Parrish 1, Housler 1, Reiter 1), B 2 (Gigliotti 2); Total fouls: SM 19, B 19; fouled out: Nick Catalone (SM), Caleb Nuzzo (B)

JV: Bradford won 62-27