Hawthorne vs. Bradford Set to Tip-Off in Lakeland

Local schools Hawthorne and Bradford are set to tip-off in Lakeland for the FHSAA Boy’s Basketball state semifinals on Wed. March 2.

Coach Bowie previews the game

Greg Bowie, Hawthorne head coach, joined SportScene with Steve Russell to talk about the upcoming match up. Bowie reflects on the regional final game played on Feb. 22. He described the match up versus Trenton as an exciting game.

Furthermore, it was a highly competitive game, going into double overtime. Hawthorne had three players who played the entire game.

In the final seconds, Bowie tried to slow down the game by holding the ball.  In addition, this allowed the team to emerged victorious with a 40-39 win over Trenton and punch their ticket to the state tournament.

In high schools sports, the goal is to not only make it to Lakeland, but to also win in Lakeland. Bowie says his team will prepare for possible opponents that could come after Bradford.

Hawthorne is hungry for Bradford

In the midweek match-up, Bowie expects the Hawthorne fans to travel well as they cheer on the Hornets. Bowie says that Bradford has a physical team. Furthermore, there will be an adjustment factor playing in a different gym. However, Hawthorne is sticking with their game plan of attacking the rim and getting to the basket.

Above all, he says the two schools typically play each other throughout the regular season. However, this season they did not play each other once. Bradford has a strong offensive presence, said Bowie as the Hornets look to play aggressive defense.

As for Bradford, they have won all of their playoff games. With most recent wins over Bell 59-30 and Madison County 64-54. WRUF reached out to the Bradford Head Coach for an interview and was declined.

Meanwhile, Hawthorne is entering the game after winning all of their playoff games and having an 11-4 record.