CINCINNATI - The Taft boys’ basketball team did not look like a squad stuck in the cellar of the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference on Saturday night. Instead, the Senators jumped out to an 18-4 first-quarter lead and glided past the first-place Woodward Bulldogs, 59-49, to earn their first conference win of the season.
Junior guard Chris’seon Stringer opened the game’s scoring with a three-point play at the six-minute mark of the first quarter. Taft did not look back, holding the lead for the final 30 minutes of the contest to lock up its seventh straight win over Woodward dating back to Dec. 2014.
In his long-awaited return to the floor, Stringer scored Taft’s first seven points and tallied a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds on a night where the Senators scored 40 points in the paint.
“He (Stringer) is one of the best players in the state,” Taft head coach DeMarco Bradley Sr. said. “Everyone saw that tonight.”
Woodward had won six in a row coming into Saturday night’s matchup, but came out of the gates cold and could not recover.
The Bulldogs shot just 20 percent from the field (5-for-20) in the first half and missed 14 total free throws on a night where they were held under 50 points for the first time in 14 games, dating back to last season.
Manufacturing most of Woodward’s offense was 6’5’’ forward Terry Durham. The senior posted his seventh straight triple-double with a game-high 25 points and 18 rebounds. Outside of Durham, though, Woodward was 8-for-38 from the field and made just two of its 23 three-point attempts.
Taft kept the pedal down to begin the third quarter, answering baskets by Durham with a fast-paced attack.
“We don’t lighten up, we tighten up,” Bradley Sr. said.
The Bulldogs stringed together a few second-half spurts of momentum to tighten this conference clash. Buckets by Dre Lewis and Raysean Willis anchored Woodward's 10-4 run to close the third quarter, but another Stringer and-1 just eight seconds into the fourth quarter gave Taft a double-digit advantage they would maintain until it was far too late.
Starter Dontae Mosley played just 10 minutes due to early foul trouble, but playing a big role was Michael Peppers Jr. The guard made Taft’s only three-pointer of the night and finished with 17 points off the bench.
Woodward cut the lead to seven with 44.3 seconds left, but a loose-ball foul and a technical on the Bulldogs led to Peppers Jr. knocking down four consecutive free throws to put the game on ice.
For Bradley Sr., it was a great victory for his team on a night where Woodward gave him some extra motivation.
Saturday was Woodward’s Alumni Night, where the school honored Orlando Berry and Chip Jones, two members of Woodward’s 1990 state championship club and former teammates of Bradley Sr., who also graduated from Woodward.
“I thought it was very messed up to have a ceremony with two of my former teammates. Orlando Berry, who is my best friend, and Chip Jones, who taught me a lot about life and basketball.” Bradley Sr. said. “I told my guys ‘let’s go play’ and I got a late Christmas present today.”
These two teams meet up again on Jan. 26 at Taft High School in downtown Cincinnati.
Taft 59, Woodward 49
Taft – Lawrence 2 0 4, Stringer 8 4 20, Bradley Jr. 3 0 6, Samassa 2 0 4, Mosley 1 0 2, Farmer 1 0 2, Peppers Jr. 5 6 17, Gaines 0 2 2, Metz 1 0 2. Totals: 23 12 59.
Woodward – McBride 1 1 3, Cooper 2 3 7, Durham 8 9 25, North 3 1 9, Willis 1 0 2, Lewis 1 0 2, Sims 0 1 1. Totals: 16 15 49.
Halftime: T 33-18. 3-pointers: T 1 (Peppers Jr.), W 2 (North 2).