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55 | 67 |
For once, the thuggery of Southern Illinois didn't prevail. In fact, those tactics actually helped ignite a huge effort from the Bradley team to take a quarterfinal victory over the Salukis 67-55.
After playing seven minutes of bad basketball, Bradley trailed SIU 10-3 and were slipping into some of the bad habits that had plagued the team earlier in the season — too many 3-point attempts and turnovers. The game looked like one of the typical kinds of performances Bradley seems to put up against the Salukis once or twice a year.
But then with 12:39 to play in the half, forward Theron Wilson got thrown to the ground on a fast break attempt by SIU's Anthony Booker. After the unnecessary cheap shot, Wilson looked woozy and missed both free throw attempts after an intentional foul was called.
Bradley would score later that possession after a few misses by forward Taylor Brown on a classic "Sam-to-Sam" play. Guard Sam Maniscalco hit forward/center Sam Singh near the hoop for a layup and the Braves got off of three points, their first in more than six minutes.
The numerous opportunities on that one possession showed that Bradley wasn't going to get bullied by SIU anymore this game. Trailing 17-9 after a Carlton Fay jumper with eight minutes left in the half, the Braves went on 13-0 run during the next four minutes. Guard Darian Norris had five of his seven points during the run, including a 3-pointer that gave Bradley its first lead since 3-2 early in the half.
Bradley continued to play well into halftime, leading 34-25 and forcing the young SIU team into numerous turnovers. The second half wasn't much different.
The Braves led by as many as 15 points and never allowed the Salukis to close within seven. One of the biggest keys was understanding SIU's tight, pressuring defense. As the Salukis continually tried to push guards away from the basket, Bradley adjusted and began taking the ball into the defense, not letting the opponent dictate the style of the game.
Bradley also used the Salukis' pressure against them by drawing a ton of fouls and getting its best free-throw shooters to the line. Maniscalco, who had the highest free-throw percentage during conference play (89 percent), made all 14 attempts in the game. The sophomore's game-high 21 points and three assists show why he's a team leader.
Up and down the lineup, the Braves got contributions. Singh looks better every game he's healthy, showing good footwork and contributing eight points and five rebounds. Guard Chris Roberts had six points, seven rebounds and a dynamic block that further shows his unbelievable athleticism.
Even Wilson, who seemed to be out of sorts for awhile after the throw down, made some important shots. Wilson had 14 points and nine rebounds, showing the senior leadership that helped earn him all-conference honors.
Though disposing of the hated Salukis tastes sweet, Bradley's road to the NCAA tournament gets much more difficult today. The top-seeded, co-conference champion Northern Iowa Panthers will certainly give the Braves all that they can handle. UNI won both meetings in the regular season, but those only came by a combined eight points. In fact, Bradley led both games with five minutes to play. The Braves will need to finish off the dynamic 3-point shooters from Cedar Falls in order to advance to the tournament's championship game.
No. 4 Bradley vs. No. 1 Northern Iowa, 1:35 p.m. (CST), Sat. 3/7, St. Louis, Mo.
