Humboldt (Tn.) High needed a big play. Holding a narrow lead but watching it dwindle, the Tennessee squad realized that its postseason title dreams would be on the rocks unless it could find a spark.
That’s when Humboldt star De’Sonta Bradford took over. With the Humboldt offense stagnating all around him, Bradford took a pass from the top of the key and exploded toward the rack, topping a Wartburg (Tn.) High defender en route to the basket and flushing home one of the post dunks of the season.
The slam pushed Humboldt’s edge to 48-40 with just more than 5:00 remaining and provided a late-game push for Humboldt en route to a 64-58 victory in the Tennessee Class A semifinals.
“That was big for momentum,” Bradford told the Jackson Sun. “The fourth quarter was my quarter, and I had to do something.”
It’s fair to say that Bradford did something that few on hand will forget any time soon. As it is, this isn’t the first time that a Bradford poster jam has made major news for Humboldt, though it is the posterizing episode that came with the most significance.
If there was any question about just how big Bradford’s dunk was, one need just note the team’s wild celebrations after it wrapped up the Class A title with a victory against Lake County (Tn.) High. Without Bradford’s explosive rim rattling feat, the Vikings might never have even been playing for the crown.
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