It’s not the kind of deja vu that Hillcrest’s Anthony Bradley wanted to experience, but the junior guard is determined to make the most of his opportunity.
During the football season, Bradley took over as the Hawks’ starting quarterback after an injury to his older brother, Gary. Now, Anthony has taken over Gary’s spot in the basketball starting lineup after Gary — a senior guard — suffered another injury.
“It’s like the same situation,” Anthony said. “Both the injuries he had were really emotional for me. Me having to step up, it was a lot of pressure, but I felt like I could handle it well and I did.”
Anthony Bradley dealt with the spotlight just fine Friday night, hitting a trio of 3-pointers to spark Hillcrest to a come-from-behind 55-50 win over Crete-Monee in a Big Dipper quarterfinal at Rich Township in Richton Park.
Jovi Ratliff scored 18 points and Maximilian Carmicle finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for Hillcrest (7-3), which will play in a 6:30 p.m. Saturday semifinal against Homewood-Flossmoor (12-1), a 69-55 winner over Hyde Park.
Jamir Ratliff added 11 points for the Hawks and Anthony Bradley chipped in with nine.
Jaylen Blakes led Crete-Monee (9-3) with 20 points and seven rebounds. Zyheir Gardner scored 15 points, Jaydon Watts contributed eight points and Robert Kennedy pulled down 10 rebounds.
Gary Bradley, meanwhile, was injured Dec. 14 in Hillcrest’s 51-29 win over Payton. Anthony is unsure how long his older brother will be out, but his absence changed Anthony’s role into a starter after being one of the first players off the bench.
It also means that Anthony is extra motivated to pick up the slack.
“I always try to find something before every game to play for, and most of the time, it’s him,” Anthony said of Gary. “It’s really the family. So, I do it for him.”
Hillcrest started slowly Friday, trailing 14-9 after one quarter and 22-13 early in the second before Bradley buried two 3-pointers to help the Hawks pull within 27-23 at halftime.
Bradley knocked down another three early in the third to give Hillcrest the lead for good at 28-27.
“Anthony gave us a big lift,” Jamir Ratliff said. “We needed those threes for the momentum.”
Anthony said his primary focus on the court is defense. He knows the Hawks have plenty of other options offensively.
But he was ready to shoot when his moments came.
“The coaches give me the confidence,” Anthony said. “They told me to shoot with confidence and I just did that.”
Hillcrest coach Don Houston knows Bradley is mentally prepared for big moments.
“He’s a gamer, man,” Houston said. “If you’ve got the quarterback of the football team and he’s played in big games, you’ve got to put him out there because you know he’s not afraid.
“He’s fearless, and those are the types of players we love to have. If you’re not afraid, you can play for us.”
Bradley agreed that football has helped him prepare his mind for big basketball games, but he said basketball is a bigger challenge because there’s no time to relax.
“In football, you just control the offense,” he said. “In basketball you have to play both sides, so it’s very different.”
It went differently in the second half as the Hawks took control, with Jovi Ratliff scoring 16 points and Carmicle had 11.
Crete-Monee was within 43-37 after three quarters but Hillcrest opened the fourth with a 9-3 surge to pull away.
Anthony Bradley fueled the comeback, showing the poise of a two-sport star.
“You learn a lot playing these sports,” he said. “You learn how to become a man. I’m glad that all these coaches are here, too, to help me become a man.”
