HILLIARD, Ohio -- A matchup between top 10 ranked teams ended in one-sided fashion, as Hilliard Bradley took an early first quarter lead and never looked back and defeated Olentangy Liberty 55-38 in convincing fashion. 

The Patriots took the opening score, but after junior Garrett Sever made the first of his four total threes to push the Jaguars up 4-2, it was a foretelling sign of how the game would be played.

Bradley took a ten-point lead into the first quarter and halftime, which would extend up to 16 late in the third quarter. 

The Jaguars executed a nearly flawless offensive showing, as they connected on nine three pointers, had 16 team assists and saw seven different players enter the scoring column.

Sever was most lethal from beyond the arc, as he scored all 12 of his points on four-of-five attempts from deep. Senior Cade Norris was held below his scoring average, but still finished with a team-high 13 and was most effective distributing the ball towards his six assists. 

Senior Jeb Bischoff scored all ten of his points in the second half, while fellow seniors Ian Abrass and Andrew Lamb added seven and six, respectively. Freshman Ben Mirgon was impressive as lead guard with four assists, three of which came on long distance attempts.

Although the Patriots would cut the Jaguars lead to nine midway through the fourth, late-game buckets from Bradley officially put the margin out of reach.

Junior Tyler Kropp had more than half of Liberty's points, as he finished with 21 along with a team high five rebounds. Senior JR Hocutt was the only Patriot to hit from long range, which he did twice in his nine-point effort. No other Patriot scored more than four points. A usual scoring threat, junior Nick Butterfield was held scoreless. 

Hilliard Bradley (6-2, 3-0) has now won five straight, but more importantly, stays undefeated in the OCC-Central and share a two-game first place lead with undefeated Olentangy Orange. The Jaguars are quickly back at it, as they face South on Saturday afternoon.

Olentangy Liberty (6-4, 1-2) has now lost two straight in conference play, but have an opportunity to break that streak when they play at Hilliard Davidson on Tuesday. 

For more on the Jaguars dominating win, check out the 5 Keys To The Game

1. Bradley's Chain Link - At any point during the game, the Jaguars never seemed to have a weak link on the floor. Had this been your first time watching Bradley, you'd have a difficult time identifying the standout players, as each teammate was equally dialed in from opening tip. While senior star Cade Norris led in scoring and dishes, guys like Andrew Lamb, Ben Mirgon, Jeb Bischoff and Garrett Sever all chipped in a variety of ways. This came across as a group that enjoys playing with each other and has developed some serious chemistry.

2. Ball Movement - The most glaring difference between the two teams came from a distribution standpoint, as the Jaguars put on a high-end display of team offensive basketball. Bradley out-dished the Patriots to the tune of a 16-to-3 assist (unofficial) difference. Head coach Brett Norris has the unique benefit of essentially having two points guard that play on different spots of the floor, as Cade can find guys open from the post, while Mirgon is more of a traditional lead guard. Bischoff, Sever and Lamb combined for six assists of their own. Meanwhile for the Patriots, most of their offense went through Kropp, whose majority scoring production came on his own and was perfect on nine free throw attempts, nearly half of his points. 

3. Key Three is For Threes - It was raining in Hilliard on Friday as the Jaguars connected on nine makes from four different players. Sever got things started with three of his four makes off the bench in the first quarter. Bischoff and Lamb added two of their own and Abrass was good for one. These were not forced attempts and always came off an assist. The triples just seemed to keep on coming and on a night where the Patriots didn't have much luck of their own behind the arc, it made for what always seemed like an uphill battle for Liberty.

4. More Juice - Shortly after the opening tip, it quickly became clear the Jaguars were more riled up for this league match. It's hard to believe, but Bradley has lost four straight to the Patriots and haven't won against them in nearly three years, dating back to February 5, 2021. The Jaguars were league champs for the first half of the decade, until the Patriots seized the crown for the past two seasons. On Friday, based on a little extra tension shown from the Jaguars, it indicated a team that wanted to make a statement that they are eager to regain control of the OCC-Central.

5. Division and District Outlook - The Jaguars entered the season as a potential favorite to win the region. After a couple early season losses, they've now won five straight, all by double digits, and should continue to creep back up in the better half of the top 10 power rankings. Now tied for first in the division with undefeated Olentangy Orange, a major showdown approaches as the Jaguars travel to play the Pioneers on Tuesday. While Liberty has now lost three of their last four, and Friday was nowhere close to the potential they can play, history has shown the Patriots may have their regular season ups-and-downs, but generally play their best basketball come tournament time.