You could sort of predict that KyKy Tandy would probably not have back to back games like his opening game for UHA in the opening round of the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic. After being limited to six points in the Blazers win over Frederick Douglass on Thursday, Tandy rebounded with 22 on Friday to lead the Blazers past Cooper 64-53 in the quarterfinals of the championship bracket of the tournament.
However, it was the Jaguars that had the better start in the contest. Cooper packed its defense back in the early part of the game, trying to force the Blazers to connect from deep. UHA did hit four threes in the opening quarter, three from Tandy and one from KJ Crump, but still found themselves trailing Cooper 15-12 after the opening quarter.
The turning point of the game came in the 2nd quarter. The Blazers elected to switch from zone defense to man-to-man, and it paid immediate dividends. With Taquan Hollowell scoring 8 points in the quarter the Blazers came storming back and took a 30-26 halftime lead.
UHA came out of the locker room and then put the game away in the 3rd quarter. The Blazers opened the 2nd half on an 11-1 run to take a double digit lead. Over the quarter, they would limit the Jaguars to only five points as UHA led 46-31 going into the final quarter.
Cooper tried to crank up the defensive pressure in the 4th quarter to make a run to get back in the ballgame. However, the Jaguars never seriously threatened the Blazers, who held on for the 11 point win.
In addition to Tandy’s 22 points, Drew McGowan had 14, Taquan Hollowell 13, and KJ Crump added 10 points.
Cooper was led by Ty Houston with 14 points.
The Blazers improve to 11-2 on the season, and will now take on Landstown, Virginia in the semifinals of the championship bracket.