Bradley gets rare win at Carbondale, climbs back into MVC race

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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.

MVC tournament quarterfinal: No. 4 Bradley vs. No. 5 Southern Illinois

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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.

Game Eighteen Recap: Bradley @ Southern Illinois

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Revenge isn't so sweet when you're on the receiving end of it. Southern Illinois answered Bradley's drubbing in Peoria with a lopsided victory in Carbondale.

Even though the final score doesn't reflect it, Southern Illinois (8-10, 3-4) soundly beat the visiting Braves 68-62 at SIU Arena on Sunday night. Bradley (11-7, 5-2) trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half before chipping away in the final minutes.

Credit the Braves for the typical resiliency that every one of Les' teams have shown. With 1:39 to play, SIU led 57-43. Yet, when most teams would have begun warming the bus, Bradley kept fighting and got the game as close as four points with seven seconds left.

Unfortunately, that's where the positives ended.

Some of the most troublesome numbers included 20 turnovers, seven assists and 9-of-19 from the free throw line (47.4 percent). These stats don't lead to many road wins, especially at SIU arena.

Bradley led 12-9 going into a media timeout with 11:47 left in the first half. Sloppy offensive play and stifling SIU defense resulted in the Braves getting outscored 23-5 for the rest of the half. Guard Sam Maniscalco made a jumper (his only basket of the game) with 6:17 in the first half, which ended up being Bradley's last hoop from the floor until halftime.

Guard Chris Roberts had his third straight game where he failed to score more than five points. He only contributed four for the Braves, as well as committing six turnovers and securing only two rebounds.

Even high scorer Theron Wilson didn't have a spectacular game. He had to take 20 shots in order to get to his 22 point total. The senior forward's performance on the glass was impressive though, grabbing a career high 16 rebounds.

Bradley did get a pretty solid performance from guard Darian Norris. He continues to play his role of "disruptor" on defense, swiping more three steals. In his six conference games playing limited minutes, Norris now has eight steals.

Next game:

The team won't have long to dwell on this loss. The brutal stretch for Bradley finally ends with one more road game, this one at conference leader Northern Iowa. The Braves could move back into first place with a victory at a place where they've played fairly well overall. Bradley has won two of its last three games in Cedar Falls.

Bradley at Northern Iowa, 7:05 p.m. Wednesday (1/21)

Game Twelve Recap: Southern Illinois @ Bradley

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Bradley made a big statement Sunday by pounding Southern Illinois by a 79-63 margin — and it wasn't even that close.

The Braves (7-5, 1-0) led by as many as 27 points during the second half of the game, dominating nearly every facet of the contest. These were the "good" Braves who fans surely wish would be on the court more consistently.

Southern Illinois (5-7, 0-1) hung in the game for a long time, actually taking a brief 27-26 lead with 5:16 left in the first half. But Bradley closed the session with a 15-4 run, then didn't allow a Saluki point until the 14:46 mark of the second half. In the 10-minute span, the Braves had a 26-4 advantage on the scoreboard.

Forward/center Sam Singh was the most valuable player in the game, producing one of his best performances of his Bradley career. He scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds and five steals as well as blocking two shots. Singh wore a protective mask on his face, playing in his first game since breaking his nose December 14th.

One of the biggest concerns for the Braves lately has been free throw shooting. But the team combined to hit 28 of 32 attempts (87.5 percent) against Southern Illinois. Forward Theron Wilson, who is tied for first in the conference in free throw attempts, only came into the game shooting 67.5 percent. But, Wilson knocked down 9 of 10 from the line helping him finish with 17 points.

Guard Sam Maniscalco had another great game, making three 3-pointers and all seven of his free throws. The 18-point output was Maniscalco's career best, topping his previous high of 17 (twice this season).

The team got contributions from all nine players who played at least 10 minutes. Every man had at least five points.

Southern Illinois showed a great deal of inexperience in the game, which can be understood with the amount of freshmen and sophomores that play regular minutes. The Salukis stayed in the game early because their senior leader, guard Bryan Mullins, had a great first half (11 points). But after the break, Mullins didn't score again, missing all six of his shots.

Highly touted freshman guard Kevin Dillard had a game-high 21 points for SIU, but 11 of those came in the last five minutes of the game when Bradley had really slowed down its defensive intensity.

Coming up next:

Bradley plays Wednesday at Wichita State, who lost its Missouri Valley Conference opener 68-56 at league favorite Creighton on Sunday. The Braves haven't played well at Charles Koch Arena since it opened in December of 2003. In fact, Bradley won last season in Wichita, Kan. for the first time in five tries, beating a bad Shocker team 63-54.

Fans can be happy about this win, but with two road games coming up (Saturday, Bradley plays at Missouri State), the true mettle of the Braves will be shown. Considering the difficulty of winning on the road in the Valley, Bradley should be happy with a split in these games.

Other observations:

* - The only negative of Sam Singh's great game was the loss in playing time for center Anthony Thompson. He didn't see the floor until garbage time (two minutes remaining) and clearly is the odd man out with Singh's return.

Hopefully head coach Jim Les will try to get him more minutes than he received this game. Bradley could certainly play two guys over 6'9" at a time, but Les still seems reluctant to try that.

* - Apparently the "point of emphasis" for the MVC referees this season is traveling infractions. Both teams were whistled countless times for minimal or even nothing against the rules. The incessant nature of Valley refs to call too much in games looks to be back again this year.

* - I traveled to Peoria again for this game, sitting up in the nose bleeds for the first time ever. As a result, the photos are really far away for the most part, but I'm still going to post the shots I have from the game.

Click the photo above to view a slideshow.

2. Southern Illinois

Preseason poll: 2nd

Most teams that lose their two best players won't be picked this highly in any conference. But sometimes, tradition trumps conventional reality.

Call it the coaching, the system, or the players. Whatever "it" is, that quality seems to always keep Southern Illinois in the heat of the Missouri Valley Conference race.

The Dawgs are known for their tenacious defense and incredible home court advantage (92-6 in the past seven years). A casual fan might see their style as ugly, even boring, but it churns out winning teams every season.

Even in a very disappointing season for SIU, the Salukis finished 18-15 in 2007-08 and made the NIT. The team will need to buy into its system even more this season, especially considering all of the new players on the team.

Though big men Randal Falker and Matt Shaw graduated, SIU does have guard Bryan Mullins (6'2" Sr.) to direct the Dawgs. Mullins averaged almost 11 points per game last season, but he's known for his true point guard skills. He won the MVC Defensive Player of the Year award and also knows how to command the SIU offense (4.9 assists per game).

Though guard Wesley Clemmons (6'3" Sr.) also returns as a possible starter, it's the incoming recruits that has SIU excited.

The player coming in the most recognition might be guard Kevin Dillard (6'0" Fr.), who won Illinois' Mr. Basketball award (top high school player in the state). He should play a lot immediately and have a great mentor in Mullins to take over for next year.

The Salukis also have two talented prospects in freshman guards Ryan Hare (6'4" Fr.) and Torres Roundtree (6'4" Fr.). Both are scorers and should help the offensive side of the ball where SIU can sometimes struggle.

A conference championship might be determined by the amount of production the team can get from their post players. The Salukis have one holdover who has experience, forward Tony Boyle (6'8" Sr.). He's a big body that should rebound well and chip in some points close to hoop.

There isn't much else for depth other than forward Carlton Fay (6'8" So.) and Christian Cornelius (6'7" Jr.). If either player can make strides, that will go a long way towards winning another MVC title.

See the same theme for another MVC team: lots of talent, how quickly can they gel together? Considering what the Dawgs have done in the past, I wouldn't bet against them finishing on top yet again.