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Hilliard Bradley grinds away the will of Thomas Worthington with team defense and timely offense

By Andy Hoben, 01/18/19, 11:45PM EST

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Junior tandem of Allocco and Mayfield lead visiting Jags to big win over Thomas Worthington

WORTHINGTON, Ohio -- In a tight game through halftime with little offensive firepower from either team, it was obvious that the lead guards of either Hilliard Bradley (12-0) or Thomas Worthington (10-3) would need to take control for there to be separation in Friday night’s contest. After a Ben Wight and-one conversion, the Cardinals cut it to a one point game and, for an instant, the Jaguar’s undefeated season looked like it was in jeopardy.

Insert Matt Allocco.

The versatile junior playmaker took complete control of the game on the offensive end and was too much for the home Cardinals to handle down the stretch, essentially putting the game away single handedly in Bradley’s 47-31 win.

The game started off slow offensively for both teams, as it took a while for anyone to take control and string together makes on offense. Bradley looked as though they were gaining momentum before a jumper by Thomas Worthington sophomore Isaac Settles at the first quarter made the score 11-9 in favor of the visiting Jaguars.

Slowly but surely, the junior Allocco and classmate Chris Mayfield started to get going on offense for the Jags, however, the Cardinals weren’t going down without a fight. Four straight points in the last minute of the half by the senior Wight including an emphatic two-handed slam brought Thomas Worthington within two going into the break at 25-23. Settles had 10 points for the Cardinals at the half on two made threes.

Though it wasn’t immediate, the vaunted Bradley system led by Allocco ended up eating away at the will of the Cardinal guards and led to the junior being able to impose his will. Allocco brought major energy on the offensive end and was visibly riled up, which injected his team with a much needed boost of confidence and guided their third quarter run that saw them push the lead to double digits. The Jags held Thomas Worthington to a mere three points in the third on their way to a 37-26 lead as Allocco quietly kept a triple-double pace.

The fourth quarter saw more of the same issues for the Cardinals: the inability to crack the Bradley defense and a complete lack of an answer for Allocco’s playmaking on the other end. The Jaguars kept up the pressure on defense and would maintain a double-digit lead for most of the final period. As regulation winded down Coach Norris decided to have his team go into conservative mode and take their time on offense, only breaking their motion for wide open looks.

Thomas Worthington’s desperation attempts to close their deficit was too little too late, and all that their foul-game tactics did was give Allocco free attempts to increase his point total, which he did perfectly to the tune of six-for-six at the line. Bradley finished the game on an 8-0 run and pulled out the win 47-31.

Thomas Worthington’s offense was completely shut down in the second half and their usual production simply wasn’t there. Ohio University commit Ben Wight led the Cardinals with 11 points to go along with four boards and was impressive throughout the game though he didn’t receive much help on the boards or offensively in general as the game wore on.

Settles finished with 10 and showed his big confidence and the potential of his 6-foot-5 wing-guard frame with a few smooth jumpers, including his two threes. Usual standout sophomore Jalen Sullinger didn’t have his best game by any means and had a tough time breaking the tough Bradley defense. The Cardinals fall to 10-3 on the year.

Allocco led his team in every major category on Tuesday, dropping 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists as a part of his stellar overall game. Mayfield scored 14 tough points in the paint, mostly off of Allocco dishes, and also added four boards. Senior Zach Hummel was a steady force for the Jaguars all night in the paint alongside Mayfield and tallied seven points, which included a three, and six boards.

The Jaguars were able to keep their perfect season intact and push their record to 12-0.

 

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