Despite fate being unkind to them for the second straight postseason, the boys basketball team from Southfield Bradford refuses to go down without a furious fight to the finish.

Playing without their best player, 6-foot-4 forward Erik Murphy, who is sidelined for districts with a knee injury for the second year in a row, the feisty Bulldogs have pulled off back-to-back wins at the buzzer in the first two rounds of the state tournament to catapult themselves into a Class C district championship game against Madison Heights Bishop Foley on Friday.

Murphy went down last week and Bradford (16-6) has been playing like a squad possessed ever since.

On Monday in the district quarterfinals, the Bulldogs prevailed over Pontiac AOE on a tip-in at the buzzer. Then on Wednesday in the semis, they nipped Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest 67-64 on a Gerald Franklin 3-pointer at the horn.

The Bulldogs' star cager might be on the shelf, but Bradford still has a lot of skilled weapons in its arsenal. Franklin isn't the only one stepping up either. Junior point guard Chris Boatman (eight points, eight assists on Wed) is a top-flight floor general and senior forward Ellis Martin (13 points, 11 rebounds on Wed) is a genuine SIR-GRIND-A-LOT specialist, to just name a few of the Bullldogs' lethal options on the floor not named Erik Murphy.

Watch out Foley, Bradford is dangerous right now……there's nothing more frightening than a wounded and hungry animal!!!! And that's what the Bulldogs are as we speak heading into their district final throwdown with the five-time defending champion Foley Ventures.

Earlier this year Bradford showed they deserved recognition as one of the better small school ball clubs around; holding a state ranking and snaring a signature win over Class B Inkster courtesy of a game-winner by Martin. Bradford's most impressive outing may have been in a loss though. Back in late December, the Bulldogs squared off with and practically beat local Class A power Southfield-Lathrup, before the Chargers got the win on a free throw by Cheik Ka and a controversial block on Bradford's attempt underneath Lathrup's basket at the final horn.