They accomplished just that on Saturday, getting out to a hot start against Bradford and ending the game on a 13-3 run en route to a 47-32 victory.

“After playing such a good game against General McLane and not getting the win, we wanted to come out fast and we did that,” said Warren coach Jeff Berdine. “We were able to finish this one out.”

The Dragons (3-4), to their coach’s point, certainly got off to a fast start, outscoring the Owls (5-2) 19-4 in the first six minutes of the game.

Peyton Barnes and Ben Berdine both had four points during the early surge, Tom Bablak drilled a 3 and Ryan Rafalski finished it off with a jumper.

Warren senior guard Ryan Rafalski (4) pulls up for a jumper over Bradford's Caleb Nuzzo during the first half of their game Saturday’s game against Bradford at Joseph A. Massa Gymnasium.

Just like that, the Owls, who were coming in winners of five-straight, were behind the eight ball.

“That McLane game is the outlier,” noted coach Berdine .”We had to focus on winning this one. The quick start gave them their confidence back. It’s been over a week since we played and sometimes you’re not really sure how you’re going to come out. I really emphasized the quick start because Bradford plays hard. They’re going to come out, get in your face and defend.”

To the Owls credit, they didn’t fold.

Coming off impressive wins against Allegany-Limestone and Olean at the IABBO Tournament last weekend, a Tyler Gigliotti jumper got them within eight midway through the second quarter. Gigliotti, who was coming off a career-high 41 points against Olean, had 17 in this one, but coach Berdine was pleased with how they defended Bradford’s star guard.

“Defensively, we played a pretty solid game for the most part,” he said. “We really tried to focus on Gigliotti. He’s a good player. I told the kids he’s one of the best guards you’ll see all year.”

Gigliotti hit a 3 and had a coast-to-coast finish at the end of the third quarter that got the lead down to five, 34-29.

But Berdine also found his offensive stride in the third, and his jumper early in the fourth gave the Dragons a 38-29 advantage.

Mitch Grosch followed with a putback and Ryan Arnold hit a pair of free throws, and the lead swelled back to double digits.

“They switched to zone and we couldn’t buy a shot,” Berdine said. “We tried a couple different things, made some adjustments, got some looks inside and got some points in transition. That got us going again offensively and they had to go back into man which I think was to our advantage.

“I thought we did a good job in the second half controlling the glass.”

To that point, Barnes led the team with eight boards, while Berdine had five and Bablak and Arnold four each.

The play of guards Tyler Gustafson and Rafalski off the bench was also critical to the Dragons’ success.

“Ryan and TJ came in and played well, which I told them we’re really going to need them to step into those roles,” Berdine said.

Bablak also had four assists and four steals, while Barnes dished out four assists and Grosch and Arnold had four steals apiece.

Cam Austin, Bradford’s second-leading scorer, was held to just four points, but did pull down a team-high five rebounds.

The Dragons return to action on Friday, hosting Harbor Creek.

Warren also won the JV game, 36-30. JT Blum led the way with 11 points, while Parks Ordiway chipped in with eight and Bryce Blair seven.

– – –

BRADFORD (32)

Manion 0-1-3-1, Austin 2-0-0-4, Schmidt 3-2-4-8, Gigliotti 6-2-3-17, Nuzzo 1-0-0-2, Knowlton 0-0-2-0, Piscitelli 0-0-0-0, Kane 0-0-1-0, Wilmoth 0-0-1-0, Dixon 0-0-0-0, Totals 12-5-14-32

WARREN (47)

Arnold 2-2-2-6, Berdine 7-3-6-17, Bablak 6-0-1-13, Grosch 1-0-0-2, Barnes 2-1-2-5, Gustafson 1-0-0-2, Rafalski 1-0-1-2, Swanson 0-0-0-0, Vazquez 0-0-0-0, Totals 20-6-12-47

By Quarters

Bradford 9 8 12 3 – 32

Warren 21 6 7 13 – 47

Three-point FGs: Bradford (3) – Gigliotti 3; Warren (1) – Bablak