Bradley snaps home losing streak with OT win against Sycamores

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Midway through the second half, Bradley had blown yet another big lead and were looking at yet another home loss. But the Braves made enough plays in the end and found a way to beat Indiana State 91-85 in overtime.

Junior guard Andrew Warren had a huge game, scoring a career-high 26 points with seven rebounds, two assists and a block. Fellow junior guard Sam Maniscalco tied a career high himself of 21 points (5-of-9 from beyond the arc) while chipping in five assists and two steals.

Bradley (7-7, 2-2 MVC) looked to be heading for a blowout victory after another convincing first half of basketball. The Braves finished the final five minutes on a 20-4 run which was capped off by a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Maniscalco.

Probably the most interesting stat from the first 20 minutes was that Bradley had 14 assists to only one turnover. Combine that with 8-of-12 from 3-point range and 53.1 percent shooting overall and it wasn't tough to see how the Braves got so far ahead.

But as is what often happens in basketball, shots started bouncing out for the Braves and Indiana State capitalized. Freshman guard Jake Eastman made a wide open layup off an inbounds play to give Bradley a 53-39 lead with 14:30 to play. In less than three minutes, the lead completely evaporated.

The Sycamores got incredibly hot from long distance, throwing in a few shots that at best were difficult and at worst were foolish attempts. Bradley's offense had one of its classic dry spells which included two bad turnovers, two open 3-point misses and a botched short-range shot.

Head coach Jim Les did something that he doesn't normally do that may have been a turning point - he called a second timeout during the run. Les' style has been to usually let his teams try and play through runs by the opposition. But he noticed that the team was really out of sync and needed an additional breather.

Even though Indiana State did push its lead out to five points during the next stretch, the home squad showed more poise in drawing two fouls (making all four free throws) and getting better looks on offense. Rashad Reed, who was one of four Sycamores in double figures, kept his team ahead with two challenging 3-pointers as the game moved past the five-minute mark and Indiana State still led 68-63.

The game may have slipped away if it weren't for two big shots by Warren, a pull-up jumper and a three from the corner to tie the game. Sophomore center Will Egolf, who wasn't having one of his better games, drew two charge calls on defense that seemed to fire him (and the team) up for the remainder of the game.

The roller coaster half continued during the final few minutes as Bradley lost a 74-71 advantage as Maniscalco committed two turnovers and missed a 3-point shot. Jordan Printy nailed his fifth 3-pointer of the game with just 24 seconds to play, giving Indiana State a 76-75 lead.

Senior guard Chris Roberts was fouled with 16.9 left and stepped to the line with a chance to seal the victory. Having already missed his first four free throws, Roberts had his first attempt rim out as well, but did manage to tie the score at 76-76.

Maniscalco made a great defensive stop on the Sycamores' Harry Marshall, forcing the talented point guard into a traveling violation with 0.9 seconds to play. Warren attempted a half court shot at the buzzer but it fell short.

Sophomore forward Taylor Brown, who returned to action after missing last game due to a "coach's decision" had had a poor second half. He started overtime by getting blocked on Bradley's first possession and then missed two free throws the next time down (had been 15-of-15 in conference games).

Brown said on the postgame show that he felt badly about how he'd been playing and wanted to make a play. Brown did exactly that, helping the Braves gain their first lead of overtime 80-78 by making an observant steal and unselfishly dished an assist to Warren for a layup.

Three possessions later, Brown made the most important shot in overtime, nailing a three from the corner and the Braves had a two-possession lead at 86-82. Poor free throw shooting (which plagued Bradley the entire game) prolonged the game longer than it needed to be, but the Sycamores long-range luck ran out.

A different feel

Even though Bradley let multiple leads slip away again, this game didn't have as deflating of a feel to it. Part of that can be attributed to the fact that Indiana State was just chucking in shots from all over the floor. Maybe we're all just getting used to this team not being able to play a full 40 minute game.

Credit the team for finally gutting out one of these close games. Sustaining these large leads will still have to be addressed - something had to change coming out of the locker room. But at least the team got one, which looked to be weighing on the players. The Braves needed to finish someone off for their own (and maybe their fans, as well) sanity. Confidence is such a critical aspect of the college game.

Still no "Croatian assassin"

Freshman forward Milos Knezevic seems to have completely lost his spot in Bradley's rotation. Maybe the best pure shooter on the team, Knezevic didn't get in again tonight, making that a total of two minutes in the last three games.

Since we don't get a chance to see the Braves practices, it is hard to speculate on what the true cause of this is. The rumblings have been that Les isn't happy with Knezevic's defense and maybe there are other things that are causing him to lose playing time. The freshman has certainly made his fair share of inexperienced mistakes in games this season.

This is a case where it'd be unfair to criticize Les, not knowing the inside scoop. But whatever the problem is, with as dynamic of a shooter as Knezevic is, hopefully he works hard to earn more time back on the floor. Warren and Maniscalco can't be as hot from long range every night as they were against Indiana State.

Big stretch ahead

Conference play doesn't get any easier in the near future. Bradley has two games against Missouri State on the next two Saturdays with a nationally televised game at conference-leading Northern Iowa sandwiched in the middle.

The surprise Bears started the season 12-1 with non-conference wins over Auburn, Tulsa and St. Louis. But now Missouri State has lost two in a row, including a home loss tonight against Wichita State. Not only is this team better than everyone outside of Springfield, Mo. expected, but it will likely be an angry team that is trying to rebound from its first losing streak of the season.

At least Bradley doesn't have to play at the dreaded Hammons Student Center, where it was 3-14 all-time. The Braves managed to win its inaugural game at the new JQH Arena last season, 63-57. Though Missouri State has exceeded expectations so far this season, this still should be a winnable game for Bradley. A win would really boost the team's confidence going out to Cedar Falls next week.