OPRF grads Bell and Barnes meet up on hardwood

Two former OPRF High School basketball players went head-to-head on Feb. 23 when UIC hosted Bradley University for the ESPN Bracket Buster.

Ka'Darryl Bell (2012) and Dan Barnes (2008) faced each other on the hardwood as Bell's Bradley Braves grabbed a 63-62 nail-biting victory despite Barnes scoring a team-high 18 points for the Flames. Bell, a freshman for Bradley, only saw 16 minutes of action but was on the winning side when fellow teammate Jake Eastman hit a game-winning basket with nine-tenths of a second on the clock for the victory.

Barnes, a senior starter, connected on 7-of-14 from the field, while also grabbing five rebounds and pocketing two steals.

The two guards, who briefly had to defend one another, were cheered on by OPRF's current boys basketball team and head coach Matt Maloney.