By Chris Parker
Central opened the 2025 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions by putting the Bullis School on upset alert. The Springfield Bulldogs led by as many as seven in the third quarter but Bullis used a spurt to end the third quarter to take the lead back on the way to a 65-51 victory.
Bullis played the game without University of Connecticut commit Eric Reibe and his seven-foot frame.
The visiting Bulldogs from Maryland jumped out to a 19-7 lead with 1:57 left in the first quarter.
From there, Central used a strong defense to chip away at the lead. Central forced 10 first-half turnovers including nine steals. They closed the half on a 20-7 run to take a 27-26 lead into the break thanks to a Devin Sanford three-pointer with four seconds left.
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Out of the break, Central pressed its advantage by scoring the first six points to take a 33-26 lead early in the third quarter. That would be Central’s largest lead of the game.
Bullis closed the third quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 46-41 lead into the fourth quarter. The Bullis Bulldogs outscored Central 19-10 in the fourth quarter to secure the 65-51 victory and advance to the semifinal round.
Jeremiah Johnson, who holds offers from Howard University, Green Bay and Mount St. Mary, led all scorers with 20 points in the win for Bullis. Teammate Adrien Stevens, a Marquette commit, had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Xavier Skipworth also scored in double figures for Bullis with 11 points.
Bryce Walker led Central with 18 points. Jordan Pittman added in 15 of his own for Central.
Central will face the loser of the Link Academy vs. Millennium game at 4:30 on Friday. Bullis gets the winner at 7:30.
