By Dimitrios Kontogiannis, Sports Editor
Bradford High School senior guard De’Monte Nelson went off again during the Hoops for Hope game against Indian Trail High School & Academy at the Bradford Fieldhouse on Jan. 9.
Nelson, who has received multiple Division 1 offers (including Loyola University Chicago, and University of Texas El Paso), scorched the Hawks for 30 points, and also added five rebounds, and three assists in their 69-52 triumph over Indian Trail. We suspect he had such a good game because he channeled his frustration after only scoring a season low 10 points against Racine Park the previous game.
The previous low score really didn’t indicate how close Indian Trail came to stealing this game from the Bradford Red Devils. The ITA Hawks were down eight points at halftime, but switched to a 2-3 zone defense well into the second half which got them within three of the Red Devils with about eight minutes to go in the game. Bradford went on a 13-4 run, though in the last moments, which sealed their victory.
Indian Trail junior guard Josh Brown seemed to be getting back into his groove these last few games and reached the peak of it on Tuesday, with a season high of 22 points, also adding on five assists. Brown certainly wasn’t a one-man show. Junior forward TJ Bradford went for a double-double, piling up 12 points and 10 boards, while junior forward Jac’quay Terrien put up nine points, grabbed six boards, and dished out five assists.
Star freshman point guard Ezra Stargell was not a factor as he was held to only two points by Nelson’s smothering defense. Starting junior forward Jhe’veon St. Julien was also a non-factor as he got in foul trouble in the first half and played limitedly during the second half.
Indian Trail will drop to 3-7 (2-4) and are now sixth in the Southeastern Conference, meanwhile Bradford improves on its already good season to 8-4 (5-1) and stays second in the conference behind the Franklin Sabers.