 |  |
57 | 55 |
Apparently the "Jim Les Magic Show" is back on tour and Bradley fans ought to be ready for another wild finish to the season. Bradley put together its third solid performance in a row and won for the first time in Carbondale since 2001.
Junior guard Sam Maniscalco led all scorers with 21 points (12-of-15 from the line) and added three assists in the victory. Sophomore center Will Egolf had a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds) for the visitors.
For as frustrating as much of the season has been to watch, Les has found a way to finally get his team to commit to playing defense again. After allowing 80+ points in four straight conference games, Bradley has now held its last three opponents under 60.
Margins like that simply don't occur mid-season. Credit the Braves for finally finding an identity, one that is the real way to find success. If Bradley doesn't put together such a strong defensive performance, it doesn't survive the poor offensive performance from three of its top four scorers.
Senior guard Chris Roberts, junior guard Andrew Warren and sophomore forward Taylor Brown had been averaging a combined 30 points per game going into the contest. To think that they only scored a collective 11 total and the Braves still won is remarkable.
The Salukis were downright bad on offense, settling for a lot of poor opportunities (especially during the final few minutes of the game). Compound that problem with the fact that they also missed a lot of open looks and SIU was doomed.
SIU made just 4 of 25 attempts from beyond the arc (16 percent) and shot a poor 27 percent overall. Call it a coincidence if it were just for a game, but shutting down opposing offenses is starting to become a trend for Bradley.
Freshman guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards played 23 minutes off of the bench and chipping in eight points, three rebounds, two steals and a block. The energy and intensity that the young player gives for the team is tough to quantify, but any fan can see how important he is on both ends of the floor.
And with the rapid development of Simms-Edwards, sophomore guard Eddren McCain has seemed energized as his playing time had been slipping away. He got in the game for 10 minutes and most importantly had no turnovers and two assists.
Showing resiliency
A Maniscalco free throw gave the Braves a six point lead (54-48) with a little more than four minutes left in the game. But a series of events could have spoiled this collective team effort.
Carlton Fay hit an open 3-pointer to trim the advantage to three on the next possession. The next two offensive possessions were a contested 3-point shot by Maniscalco and a botched dunk by Roberts.
The Salukis picked up the loose ball and tried to score in transition. Warren hustled back on defense but was called for an intentional foul at 2:43. The call could have gone either way, but the choice a bit dubious considering the time and score of the game.
Before the Braves knew what hit them, SIU proceeded to hit the free throws and score two possessions later to take the lead 55-54 with 2:31 to play.
Bradley had seen this before on New Year's Day, when it had blown another late lead to the Salukis in Peoria. But this time would be different.
Two solid defensive possessions forced SIU into a traveling call on Tony Freeman and an ill-advised 3-pointer by Kevin Dillard. Maniscalco made 3-of-4 from the line in the final minute, giving the Braves the 57-55 advantage which would eventually be the final score.
The Salukis did get two good chances on its final possession of the game but failed to convert either 3-pointer.
"Trap game" ahead
Now that Bradley has evened its record in both conference play and on the season, confidence has to be pretty high. With that said, Saturday's matinee against MVC cellar dweller Evansville could be a chance for disaster.
The Purple Aces have lost all eight conference games and the Braves could easily look past this game with big showdowns against Creighton and Illinois State coming up next. This game cannot be overlooked and here's hoping that there is still a continued commitment to defensive play against an opponent Bradley is supposed to beat.
For whatever reason, the Braves have played up and down to their competition all season. Evansville ranks near the bottom of the league in most statistical categories and Bradley needs to exploit these weaknesses. Toss out the records and the Braves need to focus on continuing to hold teams under 60 points.
Changing perceptions
Though many have had knee-jerk reactions to the roller coaster ride this season has been, I've tried to stay pretty level headed about this team.
With that said, even my perception has radically changed twice now. From the beginning, this team looked talented enough to be competitive and finish in the upper half of the Valley. But after the 80-point defensive performances and crushing home losses, my hope was waning a bit about what this team was really capable of achieving. Few could have argued that Bradley was looking like a team that was headed for the play-in game at the Missouri Valley Tournament.
But, I did see some hope for optimism with a lighter schedule in the Valley once the Braves got into mid-January. That alone was reason for some cautious optimism. How could anyone have predicted the radical turnaround that the team has made since the embarrassing game at Missouri State on January 9?
Or maybe we should have seen it, since Les has done this many times before in his tenure. Make whatever excuses you want (injuries, suspensions, inexperience), but many Les-coached Bradley teams have taken seemingly too long to gel. At least fans are starting to see again that Les has gotten his players to buy in to playing team basketball again.
These are the ups and downs of Bradley basketball. If the team continues to play this way, many more wins will be coming the Braves' way. Why not have those positive feelings again like everyone did earlier in the season?
The 2010 Bradley resurrection tour is coming back to Peoria this weekend. Hopefully it can be as good as everyone expects.
No comments:
Post a Comment