Game Seventeen Recap: Bradley @ Indiana State

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When Bradley plays strong defensively, the team is unbeatable — literally. The Braves are now 11-0 when holding opponents under 70 points.

Bradley's effort included 10 steals and held Indiana State (4-13, 2-4) to 34 percent shooting en route to a 63-52 victory in Terra Haute, Ind. The Braves (11-6, 5-1) continue to hold a share of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference with Northern Iowa, who also won tonight at Evansville.

The rugged pressure applied by the Braves helped cover up many offensive inefficiencies. Bradley made just 2-of-13 attempts from beyond the 3-point line (15.4 percent) as well as hitting just 13-of-24 free throws (54.2 percent). If either of these statistics are at a normal percentage, Bradley probably blows out the Sycamores.

The teams traded baskets for much of the first half until center David Collins scored three straight baskets, the last putting Bradley up 22-16 with 7:36 to play. The Braves would maintain that same advantage going into halftime at 28-22, though it could have been a much wider margin.

Bradley called a timeout with 40 seconds in the half to set up a play. But, the Braves made a bad turnover and allowed Sycamore forward Jay Tunnell to make a wide open 3-pointer as the final seconds were ticking away.

Once the second half rolled around, the game had a similar feel to the last game against Creighton. The Sycamores would constantly be trying to make a run and close the gap. But Bradley always seemed to have an answer.

Indiana State cut the lead to 32-30 with 15 minutes to play, but guard Chris Roberts answered by nailing an open jumper in the lane on the next possession. Fellow guard Sam Maniscalco followed that with a dazzling reverse layup to push the Braves lead back to six.

The Sycamores trimmed the Bradley advantage to 40-37 after a sparkling individual effort resulting in a slam dunk by forward Josh Crawford. Again, the Braves would answer.

Guard Dodie Dunson scored five of his game-high 15 points to help Bradley go up by eight at 45-37.

The Braves finally took control of the game with more defensive intensity. Leading only 51-48 with 6:39 to go, Bradley held the Sycamores without a field goal for almost the rest of the game.

Maniscalco hit 4-4 from the free throw line, keeping his percentage in conference play at 100 percent (19-for-19).

For all of the players who made contributions above, the two most important players on the floor were forward Theron Wilson and guard Eddren McCain. Wilson (10 points, 7 rebounds) displayed the leadership needed from a senior, finding seams along the baseline all night and getting critical points when Bradley really needed them.

McCain also scored some big baskets in his eight point effort, but shined more importantly as the Bradley point guard. The freshman had seven assists, zero turnovers and two steals. He's already more under control than a young Daniel Ruffin was, a player Bradley fans won't forget anytime soon from that position.

Overall, head coach Jim Les should be very pleased with this performance. Sure, the shooting was bad, but that isn't this team's strength anyway. Even Les acknowledges that at this point and it has a direct correlation upon how well this team is succeeding. The players are contributing with their strengths and not being forced into a "system" that doesn't suit them.

Next game:

No Valley road game is easy, but so far the Braves have taken care of business in all three. Arguably though, the wins are over the worst three teams in the conference. The other "play-in" team may be Southern Illinois, Bradley's next opponent.

Make no mistake about it though, the SIU arena is another house of horrors for the Braves. No matter how down the Salukis are this year, this will be the toughest Valley road test yet.

Luckily most of the current roster hasn't played in Carbondale, so the intimidation won't be as great. Sunday's game will be televised on ESPNU at 6:05 p.m.

Game Sixteen Recap: Creighton @ Bradley

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No Woodfox? No problem.

A short-handed Creighton team showed why it was picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference Saturday at Carver Arena, handing Bradley (10-6, 4-1) its first loss in MVC play. The Bluejays (13-4, 3-2) didn't have leading scorer Booker Woodfox (16.8 PPG), but still produced a solid team effort to secure a 73-64 road win in Peoria.

Bradley never really got in a good rhythm the entire game on either side of the floor. The defense wasn't terrible, but when the team needed stops, Creighton scored. The offense looked disjointed and the Braves got back into "chuck" mode, launching 18 attempts from beyond the 3-point line.

Post player Kenny Lawson Jr. as well as guard Cavel Witter helped Creighton stretch its first half lead to 10 points with 5 minutes left in the half at 27-17. But the lackadaisical Braves awoke for the last five minutes, scoring the last nine points and trailing 27-26 at the break.

Bradley even stretched that run into the second session, taking a 30-26 lead after a Eddren McCain layup and Theron Wilson dunk. But the Braves wouldn't make another field goal for eight minutes, letting Creighton build its lead back up to seven points.

This game had the classic feel of one that Bradley simply would never get over the hump. Creighton hit big shot after big shot, never allowing the Braves to make a run.

The biggest back breaker might have come with just under 12 minutes to play and Bradley within three points. The Braves had a great defensive possession, forcing the Bluejays to use the entire shot clock. As the buzzer sounded and guard Josh Dotzler threw up a wild shot in the lane, Lawson was there to tip the ball right back into the basket, pushing the score back up to 40-35.

Though the game felt almost unwinnable at that point, the lead was still five points with five minutes to play. A critical four possessions iced the game for Creighton.

First, guard Chris Roberts made a bad decision and committed a turnover. Bluejay star guard P'Allen Stinnett, who was having a terrible game up until that point, nailed a tough jumper to put Creighton up seven. Then McCain made another turnover and Stinnett would take the ball in transition, score and get fouled by guard Sam Maniscalco. In less than a minute, Bradley went from down five to down 10 and the game was essentially over.

And though some Bradley players had good stat lines, nobody really had two good halves. Maniscalco had a huge first half, scoring 11 of Bradley's 26 points. But then Maniscalco was nearly invisible in the second half, making only 1-of-5 attempts.

Conversely, nobody else really showed up for the Braves in the first half. Guard Dodie Dunson had all but three of his 16 points during the final 20 minutes. Nine of McCain's 12 points also came in the second half.

Bradley also only got a combined three points from inside players Taylor Brown, Sam Singh, and David Collins. When the Braves have been successful, they've gotten major contributions from the big men.

Overall, this was a very disappointing loss and a frustrating game to watch. Luckily this wasn't a bottom feeder in the league and nobody expected Bradley to go 18-0 in conference play.

Up next:

The schedule doesn't get any easier for awhile as the Braves now go on the road for three straight (at Indiana State, Tues., at Southern Illinois, Sun., at Northern Iowa, Weds. 1/21). Bradley needs to win two of these if it really wants to continue to consider itself a contender for the conference title.

Any road win is great in the Valley, but the Braves two road wins were against two of the worst teams in the league. Bradley needs to take care of business against Indiana State and SIU, as the Braves are clearly superior on the talent side.

More pictures:

Check out the slideshow of pictures I took at the game.

Click the photo above to view a slideshow.

(Updated at 11:45 PM with full recap.)

Game Fifteen Recap: Illinois State @ Bradley

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After a dismal loss in Milwaukee on December 20, few could have predicted the next five games would be victories. But Bradley (10-5, 4-0) has risen to the top of Valley with a 56-52 victory over previously undefeated Illinois State (14-1, 3-1).

The first round of the "War on 74" lived up to the hype with another Bradley-ISU classic. The teams traded baskets for much of the first half, but then ISU went ice cold after the guard Lloyd Phillips made a layup with 7:50 to play, pulling the Redbirds within two at 18-16. Bradley held ISU to just five points the rest of the half, including a five minute stretch where the Redbirds didn't score.

Bradley took a 30-21 advantage into halftime, much of that caused by a great first session by center David Collins and forward Taylor Brown. Collins showed a renewed intensity on the court while Brown provided his usual energetic spark off of the bench.

Illinois State didn't fold at the break, coming out in the second half much more aggressively on both ends of the court. The Redbirds started playing zone against the Braves, which really muddled the Bradley offense for about five minutes. The home team was stuck in neutral on offense but kept the defensive pressure up.

Guard Darian Norris knocked down a critical 3-pointer for the Braves with 10:06 to play, stretching the lead to 45-33. ISU kept coming though, cutting the lead to six (45-39) at 8:17 and then to five (50-45) with 1:44.

Bradley refused to let the Redbirds get any closer, scoring off a great passing play from Wilson to forward/center Sam Singh to extend the lead to seven points. That led to the most memorable possession of the game, where both guard Chris Roberts as well as Singh had blocked ISU shot attempts. Wilson secured a rebound on a third Redbird miss, then promptly knocked down two free throws and make the score 54-47.

The Redbirds pushed to the very end, getting the game within four points at 54-50 with 8.8 seconds left. But Roberts made two free throws and Bradley kept its Valley record perfect with the 56-52 victory.

Next game:

The schedule doesn't get any easier for Bradley, who has preseason conference favorite Creighton (12-4) coming to Peoria on Saturday night. The Bluejays lost their second consecutive game Tuesday, falling 69-66 at home to Northern Iowa. Though Creighton may only be 2-2 so far in MVC games, nobody should expect this game to be easy. After knocking ISU off the pedestal, now Bradley will have the target on its back from the rest of the Valley.

Game Fourteen Recap: Bradley @ Missouri State

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Bradley completed a two game road sweep by gritting out another tough victory at Missouri State 63-57. The win kept the Braves (9-5, 3-0) perfect in conference play, setting up a Tuesday showdown for first place against rival Illinois State. The Bears dropped to 7-7 overall and 0-3 in conference games.

Previous Jim Les coached teams would have probably lost this game, especially considering a major disadvantage in rebounding as well as lousy officiating. But credit the Bradley head coach for making some key adjustments down the stretch in order to secure another road win.

After getting beat badly on the glass for 35 minutes and the Bears scoring at will in the post during the second half, Les switched to a 1-3-1 zone. The defensive change confused Missouri State and slowed its offense to a halt for the remaining five minutes.

The first 20 minutes had a grinding feel. For as poorly as Bradley rebounded on the defensive side, Missouri State shot even worse. The Bears hit just 8-of-32 shot attempts (25 percent) and trailed 33-24 at halftime.

As most home teams do though, Missouri State made a run at the Braves. The Bears repeatedly fed their post players and whittled Bradley's lead completely away by the 8-minute mark.

Bradley surely would have lost this game if it weren't for guard Chris Roberts, who had his best game as a Brave. The junior scored 14 of Bradley's first 21 points in the second half, knocking down important shot after important shot. He finished the game with 22 points, four blocks, three rebounds and three steals.

But even with Roberts' standout performance, the game was tied at 54 with 2 1/2 minutes to play. Good teams knock down free throws in the final minutes and the Braves did just that, hitting 9-of-10 attempts when it really mattered.

Team leaders Sam Maniscalco and Theron Wilson didn't have their best games of the season. But both made intelligent plays on both ends of the floor near the end of the game that put the Braves over the top. Wilson was the only other Bradley player to finish in double figures with 12.

Other observations:

* - This game was one of the most poorly officiated in recent memory. Bradley got the benefit of some soft calls in the first half and Missouri State got that treatment in the last 20 minutes. Players and coaches just ask for consistency and that aspect wasn't on display for this one.

Bradley was whistled for two technical fouls, one on Les and one on forward/center Sam Singh. The latter came after a questionable foul call after Singh tried to force a jump ball. A quick technical was called as well, giving Singh his fourth and fifth fouls. The disqualification didn't look warranted for Singh's on-the-court actions.

* - Speaking of Singh, this was his last time to play close to home. The senior hails from Ozark, MO, which is only 25 minutes away from Springfield. He joined the post-game show on WMBD and definitely had a lot of emotion coming from this game. Singh gave a great deal of credit to fellow big man David Collins for holding down the paint after he fouled out.

Next game:

The War on 74 resumes as Illinois State travels to Peoria to face Bradley on Tuesday. Both teams are now 3-0 in conference as Illinois State easily beat conference favorite Creighton 86-64 in Normal.

The Redbirds also boast a gaudy 14-0 record, which until the wins over Creighton and surprising Evansville, had very few good opponents on their schedule. Illinois State definitely is for real and should pose a huge challenge for Bradley.

Make no mistake about it — all records should be thrown out for this one. Every Bradley-ISU game has added intensity. The only unfortunate part will be that the Bradley students will still be on break for this one, so hopefully the rest of the crowd will pick up the slack for them.

Game Thirteen Recap: Bradley @ Wichita State

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Showing resiliency on the road is a must in the Missouri Valley Conference.

A rebound basket by forward/center Sam Singh broke a tie at 58 with 0.9 seconds left in the game. Bradley (8-5, 2-0) prevented a shot attempt from Wichita State (6-7, 0-2) in the final moments, securing the narrow victory.

This game had an edge to it, including numerous hard fouls and aggressive rebounding. But instead of being pushed around, the Braves stood tall against a scrappy Shocker team.

Talented Wichita State big man Garrett Stutz got the Shockers going early, scoring three easy baskets in paint and Wichita State led 11-4 after four and a half minutes of action.

Bradley responded quickly by going on an 11-0 run for nearly seven minutes. Five different Braves scored during the surge which included a thundering dunk by forward Theron Wilson.

A highlight film tip slam by guard Chris Roberts was sandwiched in the middle of another big run by the visitors, as Bradley extended its lead to 32-20 with 4:07 left in the first half.

The Braves' maintained a lead of nine points after Wilson hit a long two-pointer with 8:23 to play, 50-41. But, the Shockers just kept pushing.

Wichita State guard Graham Hatch sunk a 3-pointer (which was called a two on the floor, but was later corrected properly by video review) to make the score 50-46 with 7:36 left in the game.

Guard Sam Maniscalco would be the victim of two calls that could have cost the Braves down the stretch. First, he was called for a foul on a three point shot by guard Toure' Murry when he made no contact with the shooter (Murry hit two of three free throw attempts). Then, Maniscalco made a smooth drive down the lane and was fouled on a layup attempt that was good. Maniscalco clearly was in the act of shooting but the play was whistled to be on the floor.

All frustrations aside, a perfect assist by guard Eddren McCain to Theron Wilson still gave Bradley a 58-53 lead with 1:48 to go.

Wichita State would complete its comeback after a poor turnover by Singh and a transition 3-pointer by Murry with 26 seconds left.

The final play was drawn up for Maniscalco, who again did not get a foul call on his drive to the hoop. But, just as soon as his shot bounced off the rim, Singh put the second opportunity back in the basket and Bradley led 60-58.

The drama didn't end there, as the Shockers inbounds play looked to drawn a foul from center David Collins. The 7-footer was trying to guard in the pass, and as a result, ran over a Wichita State player who was trying to set a screen.

No call was made though, and after one pass was tipped out of bounds and another was thrown out of bounds directly, Bradley secured the victory.

The Braves had three players in double figures: Wilson (18), McCain (11) and Singh (10). Throw out the stats though, as this contest came down to a team effort to notch another conference win.

Some observations:

* - This was definitely the most entertaining game of the season, one that both teams did not want to lose. Head coach Jim Les deserves a lot of credit for getting his team to play better and better on the road with each new season. When he first started on the Hilltop, Les' teams were painful to watch away from Carver Arena. But at least for one Valley game, the team looked poised and confident in a hostile environment.

* - Another aspect to give Les credit should be his assessment of the current roster. Finally the Braves are getting away from their "chuck it anywhere, even from the ocean" mentality. The team simply isn't a great perimeter squad and instead of just sticking to the system, Bradley has started to take the ball into the paint more, which is definitely a team strength.

Wilson, Maniscalco and McCain are all great at getting to the basket and drawing contact. The Braves showed that they have the talent to keep this formula working, even against zone defenses (which the Shockers applied for much of the game).

* - If this team is going to continue to be successful, it must keep its commitment to rebounding. Bradley held a 31-26 advantage on the glass against the MVC's best rebounding team, statistically. What Bradley lacks in shooting ability can be made up with athleticism and a commitment to sticking to fundamentals.

* - Singh had another great game, showing his range by making jump shots from the free throw line. Maybe the broken nose knocked him into another gear, as he looks poised to be a major contributor for the rest of the season.

* - Bradley only played eight guys against Wichita State, which has worked okay for the past two games. But, will this come back to haunt the Braves as the long conference season goes on? Both guard Darian Norris and center Anthony Thompson did not play in this game. If Bradley is to make it through the rugged conference slate, these two will likely need to make a bit of a contribution.

Next game:

Bradley heads to another road site that hasn't treated the team well in awhile. Coach Les will be looking for his first win in Springfield, Mo. after falling in his first six tries. An improved Missouri State team won't be a pushover, even though it has lost its first two MVC games. The Bears dealt Arkansas (10-1) its only loss of the season Nov. 22.

One advantage the Braves may have will be not playing at Hammons Student Center. Not has Bradley not won there in the Les era, but they've often played some of their worst basketball of the season there.

Now the Bears play at the new JQH Arena, which holds roughly 2,000 more fans than Hammons Student Center (11,000 total). Maybe the Braves can break from this poor stretch in Missouri and grab another big road victory.

(Please note the reason for such a late post — Due to other commitments, I wasn't able to watch this game live. But, once it was archived on BUBraves.TV, I've now seen the game in its entirety.)