The Jags defense was tough, but so was Will Mojica’s nose as Jordan Reed-Davis swats the ball away from Upper Arlington’s Brody Larrison right into his teammate’s face. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Kypton Norris, Ben Mirgon and Jayden Reed-Davis combined to score 37 points, but it was the Jaguars’ stifling defense that stole the show, holding the Golden Bears to their lowest point total of the season.
Hilliard, OH – With a sly grin, Hilliard Bradley veteran coach Brett Norris half-apologized for “kind of a boring game” against Ohio Capital Conference Central Division game against visiting Upper Arlington Friday night. Sly like a fox, that Norris fellow.
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With an unrelenting defensive effort, Norris’ Jaguars systematically broke down one of the area’s most disciplined and efficient offenses on the way to a 43-33 win over the Golden Bears before a near full house.
Bradley (14-2, 5-1) entered the night second in the Central District and fourth in the state in the latest MaxPreps Division I RPI power ratings that ultimately will determine tournament seeds. UA (11-4, 3-3) came in third and seventh, respectively.
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“Tonight was as good defensively as we’ve been all season,” Norris said. “Upper Arlington shoots it so well off their penetration. Their game is drive it and spray it and I believe they’re shooting 41 percent from 3-point range. Our effort level was really good tonight and for the most part we kept them from getting in their comfort zone. When we develop a rhythm defensively, that energy tends to carry over to the offensive end.”
The Golden Bears, who also thrive on defense (46.1 points per game), came in scoring 55.5 and riding a seven-game win streak. Their resume included quality wins over the likes of defending state champion Olentangy Orange, New Albany, Dublin Coffman and Kettering Alter.
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Kypton Norris slips by Luciano Harrigan during first half play.
This by far marked their worst offensive output all season.
“They’re just outstanding defensively,” UA coach Joe Bills said. “Coach Norris is arguably the best defensive coach in central Ohio and maybe in the whole state. They made things really difficult for us. We just couldn’t get into our flow. They were by far the more physical team tonight.”
Bradley won the first meeting at UA 54-48 in overtime for a season sweep and now leads the all-time series 9-4. The Golden Bears won both meetings last season on the way to a district championship game. The youthful Jaguars were 8-15, their first losing season since 2013-14.
“Last year, we couldn’t have won this game,” Norris said. “Four of our top eight guys in terms of minutes played were freshmen. The kids had an amazing offseason in the gym and the weight room. Our sophomores this year are about 20 pounds heavier, not to mention much more experienced and mature.”
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The latest (and last) of the Norris clan is 6-foot-2 sophomore Kypton, who leads the Jaguars at 17.3 points per game, along with 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He topped Bradley with 14 points on Friday while junior Ben Mirgon added 12 and sophomore Jayden Reed-Davis 11.
If you’re keeping score at home, eldest son Braden Norris capped a brilliant college career at Loyola-Chicago and spent one season playing professionally in Germany. He is now on the basketball operations staff with the Charlotte Hornets. After graduating from Wright State, Keaton Norris is using his final season of eligibility at Samford, in Birmingham, Ala., along with brother Cade, who transferred following his freshman season at Illinois State. Keaton is averaging 10.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists and Cade averages 8.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
Kypton and Mirgon (16.9 points per game) have an uncanny knack of playing off each other’s strengths.
“Most of our guys from last year were back and we came into the season with high expectations for ourself,” Kypton Norris said. “Ben and I have known each other for a long time and we do have good chemistry on the floor. Tonight, we won with defense, rebounding, blocking out and toughness. We’re the kind of team that digs in and helps each other out.”
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Bradley’s roster lists all but two players (neither of whom played) as guards.
Jayden Reed-Davis maneuvers against UA’s Brody Larrison.
“Kyp and Ben are both basically point guards and they have a good feel for the game,” Brett Norris said. “Jayden was super impactful on both ends of the floor as well.”
After taking a 20-16 lead at halftime, Bradley broke things open in the third quarter, building its lead to as many as 12.
Brody Larrison scored Upper Arlington’s last field goal with 3:55 remaining to make it 37-29. Mirgon scored on a layup at 3:35 and Bradley promptly went into clock-milking mode. The Jaguars didn’t attempt another shot the rest of the game.
“They hadn’t committed any fouls, so I figured we might as well pull it out and make them foul us,” Brett Norris said.
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With 11 points, Luke Mitchell was the only Golden Bear to reach doubles. UA caught a tough break when starter Hayden Henry hit the floor and suffered a dislocated left shoulder late in the first quarter. Trainers eventually were able to pop it back in place, but he remained sidelined the rest of the game. Bills suggested that his invaluable senior leader, who sustained a similar injury during his sophomore season, might miss up to two weeks.
Nate Nichols is left unguarded and sneaks by for an easy basket.
“We’ve been playing a nine-man rotation, so while losing Hayden is tough, other guys will step up,” he said.
As for Bradley, the elder Norris insisted there is still plenty of room for improvement before a potentially deep tournament run.
“From an execution standpoint, we haven’t quite found the rhythm we know we can,” he said. “We’ve played a lot of games so far for not even reaching February yet, so hopefully we can use the extra practice time to get a little sharper.”
In addition to an already tough OCC Central slate, Bradley will face a tantalizing nonleague test at undefeated Newark on Jan. 31. The Wildcats are ranked No. 1 in the district and No. 3 in Ohio.
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