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Bradley's end-to-end sprint ends in Addison Trail win

It sure didn't look like a winning formula being brewed by Addison Trail's boys basketball team.

Not until Jaavion Bradley added one last ingredient.

Bradley's full-court sprint with the ball and 3-point play with four seconds left in overtime gave the Blazers a thrilling 53-51 West Suburban Gold road victory over Downers Grove South.

Addison Trail (13-4, 4-2) saw a 5-point lead disappear in the final minute of overtime when Downers South's Donovan Ferguson made two free throws and Jon Streiter hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left. After a Blazers turnover Mantas Augustinavicius made a free throw to give the Mustangs a 51-50 lead with 12.1 seconds left - Downers South's first and only lead of the game.

Bradley's three-point play still allowed the Mustangs (5-16, 2-5) a chance to tie or win, but Denis Alibegovic's runner in the lane came up short and the Blazers held on for a key Gold victory.

"Coach just told me to get the ball and go," Bradley said. "I got the ball and looked at the clock, and it was eight seconds left. It was time to go and score. We just find a way to win."

Addison Trail led 29-17 through three quarters before allowing 26 fourth-quarter points to the Mustangs. Eight turnovers by the Blazers and 10 missed free throws helped Downers South rally.

Three times the Mustangs tied it in the final 2:25 of regulation. Taylor White scored for the Blazers to give them a 43-41 lead with 15 seconds left, but Downers South's Sam Ebersold responded with a jumper that sent the game to overtime.

"In the fourth quarter and overtime it was just a dogfight," said Downers South coach Kris Olson. "This is a young group, and I think it's just a matter of time before we turn the corner."

Addison Trail overcame 17-of-36 free-throw shooting and numerous missed shots in the paint. Downers South pushed the game to overtime despite 14-of-23 free-throw shooting and 5-of-26 field-goal shooting through three quarters. The Mustangs missed all six of their third-quarter shots from the field.

White scored 12 points for Addison Trail while Bradley and Dante Frontier added 11 points. T.J. Clifford scored 13 points for Downers South with Alibegovic scoring 12 points and Ebersold 11 points.

"We made plays when we had to," said Blazers coach Brendan Lyons. "Those guys didn't go away. We put ourselves in some bad positions, but we accomplished what we came here to do, and that's win the game."

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