Lions Win Third Straight, Move on to District Semifinals

DOVIYON BRADFORD INTERVIEW

MESQUITE, Texas – Doviyon Bradford and Dallas College Mountain View have found something.

Bradford scored 35 points as Mountain View beat Dallas College Brookhaven, 107-100, Tuesday night in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South Central District quarterfinals. It was the Lions' second win over the Bears in a week, and the victory sends Mountain View on to Thursday's 6 p.m. semifinals at Dallas College North Lake.

"We came in with the mentality to win," Bradford said after going 12 of 18 from the field and a season-best 11-for-11 at the free throw line. "Through the whole conference, we've been struggling … but the last few games we've had, it was a great team win for everybody. Everybody came together, played hard. So I felt like we were going to come out today and get a victory."

That the Lions (16-14) did in winning their third straight.

Bradford, the Dallas Athletic Conference Player of the Week, had eight rebounds, five assists and six steals, in a sparkling performance symbolic of his team's late-season surge. It was third time this season Bradford has scored 35 or more in a game.

Mountain View got out to a five-point lead on Joshua Smith's jumper at the 12:26 mark in the first half. Brookhaven (14-15) answered with a 13-2 run, taking a 28-22 lead on Curtis Trey Moffett's lay-in 4:04 later. Jordan Hicks canned a 3-pointer as the Lions closed to within three on the heels of an 8-2 spurt. Xavier Peyton's three-pointer with 5:57 left in the first half put Mountain View ahead, 37-32.

The Lions, who shot 55.7 percent, led 54-45 at halftime.

Less than four minutes into the second half, Brookhaven's Aaron Ovalle buried a 3 to keep the Bears within seven. Smith's dunk 1:37 later pushed the Lions' lead to 68-57. They stretched it to 75-57, following an 11-0 run over a 3:45 span. Smith threw down another dunk at the 10:47 mark to make it 79-64.

Mountain View held a 15-point lead until the 3:33 mark. But Moffett's steal and layup 18 seconds later pulled the Bears within 11. Grant Jessen sank two free throws as Brookhaven cut it to 94-85 with 2:30 to play. Coming out of a timeout, Jessen drove baseline for a jam, and Brookhaven drew within seven. Moffett hit two free throws at the 1:53 mark to cut it to 95-89.

After Louis Conner sank two free throws on Mountain View's next possession, Bears guard Zach Gomez hit a 3 as Brookhaven trimmed the gap to five with 1:38 to go. Ovalle's triple 13 seconds later cut it to 99-95. Bradford sank a pair of free throws before Brookhaven's Terrell Palmer scored with 45 seconds left to make it a two-possession game. But the Bears couldn't get any closer.

Smith finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks, and Conner had 20 points and eight assists. Smith went 7-for-11 from the field and at the free throw line. Bryant Smith added 17 points, six rebounds and two blocks off the bench.

Joshua Smith recorded his 18^th double-double of the season.

The Lions were 34-for-45 at the free throw line.

Mountain View advances to the semifinals to meet North Lake for the third straight year. The Blazers won the previous two postseason meetings, beginning with a 111-102 double overtime victory on Feb. 25, 2022. But that's in the past now to this group of Lions, who have turned up their intensity over the last few weeks to discover a newfound identity that has them peaking at the right time.

"We've been practicing hard, and we really treat each other as a family, so I think that's what it is," Bradford said. "The only thing we've got to think about right now is, 'Just take it a game at a time.'"