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59 | 68 |
Students rarely have the opportunity to storm in the court at Carver Arena. But after Bradley stormed back from a nine point halftime deficit, the "Red Sea" was able to wash onto the court in euphoria.
Junior guard Andrew Warren scored all 15 of his points in the second half to help the Braves (13-12, 8-7 MVC) shock the No. 18/19 team in the country. Four Bradley players finished in double figures as it was the first time the Braves have knocked off a ranked opponent in downtown Peoria.
Considering how much the Braves struggled to score in the first 20 minutes, the turnaround out of the break was nothing short of amazing. Northern Iowa methodically changed an 11-11 tie at the 10:27 mark into a 32-23 lead at the half. The team's patient offense got plenty of good looks and second chance opportunities. Combine that with how the Panthers (22-3, 13-2 MVC) put the clamps on the Bradley offense and it looked like another home loss was coming.
A few Northern Iowa fans remarked in the concourse at the half how if they could hit a three (3-of-14), they'd be up thirty. Few could have argued the impressive fact that a team which didn't even play its best ball was still nearly up double digits on the road.
If it wasn't for sophomore center Will Egolf, the Braves almost certainly would have been buried. Ten of Egolf's 12 points came before halftime, showing his athleticism against a bigger defender (talented Panther center Jordan Eglseder).
But for as many times as Bradley has come out of the break flat and allowed other teams back into games, the Braves finally returned the favor to an opponent. On both ends of the floor, the home squad looked like a completely different team.
Warren, who had been completely invisible in the first half, was active on defense and scored five of Bradley's first nine points. Before the under first television timeout, the Braves had tied the Panthers at 32-32.
The game seesawed back and forth for the next eight minutes, lacking a ton of flow due to the whistle-happy referees, coined by some as the "best" the Valley has to offer - John Higgins, Mike Sanzere, Gene Grimshaw. In a game that had only eight fouls called between both teams in the first half, suddenly had become boxing match in the referees eyes.
This stretch from 13:56 to 8:15 had an astonishing 13 fouls called between the teams. All players and coaches want is a consistent philosophy that is used throughout the game. Both coaches had plenty to gripe about but luckily, this didn't determine the outcome of the game.
In fact, both teams were unbelievable from the line. The Panthers made their first 11 free throws of the game, finishing 17-of-18 overall (93.3 percent). Bradley bested that total by making all but two attempts in the game (22-of-24, 94.4 percent).
And it was a free throw by senior guard Chris Roberts on a three-point-play opportunity that capped a decisive 9-1 run at 4:53. Roberts, who arguably had his best game of the season, had 13 points, no turnovers and finished his driving layups, which has been a problem at times this year.
Head coach Jim Les experimented a bit with a zone defense in the first half and then used it more frequently as the game progressed. The switching of defenses had the Panthers' offense confused and they frequently settled for contested outside shots.
And for as good as Northern Iowa can be from the perimeter, this was a game where the long bombs weren't falling. The Panthers made just 6-of-30 from beyond the arc, accounting for more than half of their 55 shot attempts.
That kind of result continues to leave fans scratching their heads as this Bradley team can knock off opponents like Northern Iowa and Illinois and drop puzzling decisions to Loyola and Western Carolina.
There's no way to guess how the rest of the season will go for the Braves. They could easily sweep their last three games and finish in the upper half of the conference. Just as possible, Bradley could overlook Indiana State on Tuesday and fall back into the play-in mess in the Valley standings.
No matter what happens the rest of the way, today was a good day to be Bradley fan.
Click the photo above to view a slideshow.
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