Bradwell stayed the course Saturday night and stopped a handful of Benedictine rallies to grab a 74-69 victory at home.
Anthony Campbell stole the ball early and scored a layup to set the tone.
The Tigers (2-11, 2-7) flew around on defense out of their press and dove for loose balls. That intensity allowed BI to build a 42-29 lead going into the half.
"Tonight the players gave us what we asked for. They played from the beginning throughout the game. We showed the aggressiveness and intensity we needed. We knew that BC would be fundamentally sound and play good fundamental basketball and we had to beat them at their own game," Bradwell Tigers head coach Pete Woodard said.
Not that everything went Bradwell’s way.
After building a 12-point halftime lead, BI entered the third quarter a little lackadaisical. Benedictine’s press forced the Tigers to make hasty decisions that resulted in turnovers. The Cadets created baskets out of the Bradwell miscues.
"Teams that press like we do normally do not like to be pressed. We reversed the ball before the trap and when you do that it normally leads the next person into the trap. Honestly, we normally trail at the half so having a lead tonight we were a little bit timid in the third quarter," Woodard said.
The Tigers manufactured strong offensive series by movement and patience. Late in the fourth quarter, Miguel Pineda spotted up at the arc but wasn’t open so he cut down the baseline on the opposite side and caught the ball on the reverse pass to drain a 3-pointer and put the Tigers up 65-61.
Benedictine stayed in the game, but a pair of layups in the last minute from Deon Craig kept the Cadets at bay.
Bradwell had three players in double figures. Rodney Hawkins led the scoring barrage with 15 points. Craig and Anthony Campbell contributed 11 points each. Pineda sank three 3s for 9 points.
The Tigers hosted region power Beach on Tuesday night. Results were not available at press time.
Bradwell 74,
Benedictine 69
Bradwell 19|23|10|22-74
BC 12|17|20|20-69
Bradwell top scorers: Rodney Hawkins 15, Deon Craig 11, Anthony Campbell 11, Miguel Pineda 9, Jamael Smith 8, Jalen Watson 6, Javonte Richey 5, Malcolm Dingle 5, Cameron Kight 2, Dazjen Tinae 2, Thomas Smith 1