NEWARK ― Hilliard Bradley coach Brett Norris has sent three older sons on to play Division I college basketball, but the youngest may be the best of them all.
Kypton Norris, a 6-foot-2 sophomore point guard, hit a clutch game-tying 3-pointer and then a game-winning rebound shot just before the buzzer, lifting the visiting Jaguars to an intense 43-41 win against previously undefeated Newark.
After the Wildcats split a pair of foul shots to go up 41-38 with 1:39 left, Norris, who scored 23 points, made an off-balance, lunging 3 to tie it 41-41. The Jaguars then forced a five-second call on a Newark inbounds with 38.5 seconds left and missed a tough shot in the lane, but Norris was there to lay it in with under a second left as a huge contingent of Hilliard Bradley fans celebrated.
“He makes a lot of tough shots and we knew how good he was, so he definitely earned those 23 points,” said Newark coach Jeff Quackenbush. “We made a lot of mistakes in those last couple of minutes, and good teams cause you to make those mistakes. We’re going to learn from them.”
The Wildcats (17-1) and Bradley (16-2) are the Central District’s top-rated Division I teams, and they played a defensive classic in front of a jam-packed crowd on hand for Hall of Fame night at Jimmy Allen Gymnasium.
The teams play similar styles and lack size, using patient offense with sharp cuts and suffocating defense to wear teams down. It was only by a narrow margin that the Jaguars won their seventh straight game.
To do so, they needed to rally in the third quarter, which the Wildcats have owned all season. Down 21-14 after a cold-shooting first half, Bradley’s 7-0 run, capped by junior Ben Mirgon’s 3, pushed it ahead 27-25.
The Jaguars did a great job on Ty Gilbert, holding him scoreless until his two free throws tied it 27-27 going into the fourth. Later, his pass inside to Jake Quackenbush for a layup, his 3-pointer from the top of the key and a driving layup by Tybron Brooks appeared to put Newark in command at 40-34 with 3:24 remaining.
However, Bradley, which played four freshmen last year when it lost at home on a last-second shot by Quackenbush, is still youthful but more experienced, and the Jaguars didn’t crack. Mirgon sank two free throws and Norris scored off a turnover to make it 40-38 and give them a chance.
Newark’s defense owned the first half as Bradley missed its first 10 shots, but neither team could score until Quackenbush drilled an NBA 3 nearly midway through the first quarter.
Brooks, who drove for 10 first-half points, and Quackenbush each hit off-balance shots ending the first two quarters. Kolton Peterson added a 3 on a cross-court pass by Brooks as the Wildcats took their 7-point halftime lead. But Norris scored 12 to keep the Jaguars afloat. He finished 10 of 15 from the field and 2 of 3 on 3s.
“They move the ball well, and I thought we did a good job defensively,” coach Quackenbush said. “That has to be pretty close to their lowest score of the season. They took Ty [Gilbert] away a little, but Tybron did a good job that first half.”
No other Jaguar was close to double figures as Newark held Mirgon to 7 points, 10 below his average. Despite shooting a solid 10 of 21 in the second half, Bradley still finished just 17 of 43 for 39%. It was only 5 of 18 on 3s.
Brooks, showing his usual variety of moves to the basket, made 7 of 9 and led the Wildcats with 16 points and three assists. Quackenbush was limited to 13 points but grabbed 17 rebounds as Newark held a 22-15 margin on the boards. Gilbert was held to 7 points but had three assists as the Wildcats went 14 of 30 for 46%, just 3 of 11 on 3s.
“With 17 rebounds, Jake really fought for the ball around the block,” coach Quackenbush said. “It was very physical.”
The Wildcats finish the regular season with four OCC-Buckeye games, three which are on the road, including rematches with Pickerington Central (Feb. 3) and Reynoldsburg (Feb. 13).
“I told them, it took 18 games for you to have this feeling,” coach Quackenbush said. “You can either pout or get better, and I definitely think we’ll get better. Coach Norris and I talked before the game, and we agreed this game would make both teams better.”
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Hilliard Bradley beats buzzer, Newark in defensive classic
Reporting by Dave Weidig, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
