Game Thirteen Recap: Bradley @ Wichita State

60	58

Showing resiliency on the road is a must in the Missouri Valley Conference.

A rebound basket by forward/center Sam Singh broke a tie at 58 with 0.9 seconds left in the game. Bradley (8-5, 2-0) prevented a shot attempt from Wichita State (6-7, 0-2) in the final moments, securing the narrow victory.

This game had an edge to it, including numerous hard fouls and aggressive rebounding. But instead of being pushed around, the Braves stood tall against a scrappy Shocker team.

Talented Wichita State big man Garrett Stutz got the Shockers going early, scoring three easy baskets in paint and Wichita State led 11-4 after four and a half minutes of action.

Bradley responded quickly by going on an 11-0 run for nearly seven minutes. Five different Braves scored during the surge which included a thundering dunk by forward Theron Wilson.

A highlight film tip slam by guard Chris Roberts was sandwiched in the middle of another big run by the visitors, as Bradley extended its lead to 32-20 with 4:07 left in the first half.

The Braves' maintained a lead of nine points after Wilson hit a long two-pointer with 8:23 to play, 50-41. But, the Shockers just kept pushing.

Wichita State guard Graham Hatch sunk a 3-pointer (which was called a two on the floor, but was later corrected properly by video review) to make the score 50-46 with 7:36 left in the game.

Guard Sam Maniscalco would be the victim of two calls that could have cost the Braves down the stretch. First, he was called for a foul on a three point shot by guard Toure' Murry when he made no contact with the shooter (Murry hit two of three free throw attempts). Then, Maniscalco made a smooth drive down the lane and was fouled on a layup attempt that was good. Maniscalco clearly was in the act of shooting but the play was whistled to be on the floor.

All frustrations aside, a perfect assist by guard Eddren McCain to Theron Wilson still gave Bradley a 58-53 lead with 1:48 to go.

Wichita State would complete its comeback after a poor turnover by Singh and a transition 3-pointer by Murry with 26 seconds left.

The final play was drawn up for Maniscalco, who again did not get a foul call on his drive to the hoop. But, just as soon as his shot bounced off the rim, Singh put the second opportunity back in the basket and Bradley led 60-58.

The drama didn't end there, as the Shockers inbounds play looked to drawn a foul from center David Collins. The 7-footer was trying to guard in the pass, and as a result, ran over a Wichita State player who was trying to set a screen.

No call was made though, and after one pass was tipped out of bounds and another was thrown out of bounds directly, Bradley secured the victory.

The Braves had three players in double figures: Wilson (18), McCain (11) and Singh (10). Throw out the stats though, as this contest came down to a team effort to notch another conference win.

Some observations:

* - This was definitely the most entertaining game of the season, one that both teams did not want to lose. Head coach Jim Les deserves a lot of credit for getting his team to play better and better on the road with each new season. When he first started on the Hilltop, Les' teams were painful to watch away from Carver Arena. But at least for one Valley game, the team looked poised and confident in a hostile environment.

* - Another aspect to give Les credit should be his assessment of the current roster. Finally the Braves are getting away from their "chuck it anywhere, even from the ocean" mentality. The team simply isn't a great perimeter squad and instead of just sticking to the system, Bradley has started to take the ball into the paint more, which is definitely a team strength.

Wilson, Maniscalco and McCain are all great at getting to the basket and drawing contact. The Braves showed that they have the talent to keep this formula working, even against zone defenses (which the Shockers applied for much of the game).

* - If this team is going to continue to be successful, it must keep its commitment to rebounding. Bradley held a 31-26 advantage on the glass against the MVC's best rebounding team, statistically. What Bradley lacks in shooting ability can be made up with athleticism and a commitment to sticking to fundamentals.

* - Singh had another great game, showing his range by making jump shots from the free throw line. Maybe the broken nose knocked him into another gear, as he looks poised to be a major contributor for the rest of the season.

* - Bradley only played eight guys against Wichita State, which has worked okay for the past two games. But, will this come back to haunt the Braves as the long conference season goes on? Both guard Darian Norris and center Anthony Thompson did not play in this game. If Bradley is to make it through the rugged conference slate, these two will likely need to make a bit of a contribution.

Next game:

Bradley heads to another road site that hasn't treated the team well in awhile. Coach Les will be looking for his first win in Springfield, Mo. after falling in his first six tries. An improved Missouri State team won't be a pushover, even though it has lost its first two MVC games. The Bears dealt Arkansas (10-1) its only loss of the season Nov. 22.

One advantage the Braves may have will be not playing at Hammons Student Center. Not has Bradley not won there in the Les era, but they've often played some of their worst basketball of the season there.

Now the Bears play at the new JQH Arena, which holds roughly 2,000 more fans than Hammons Student Center (11,000 total). Maybe the Braves can break from this poor stretch in Missouri and grab another big road victory.

(Please note the reason for such a late post — Due to other commitments, I wasn't able to watch this game live. But, once it was archived on BUBraves.TV, I've now seen the game in its entirety.)