Egolf's late baskets lead Braves to 67-65 victory

65	67

Fans have been watching a reoccurring plot at home all season: Bradley plays a really solid first half but lets the lead slip away in the second 20 minutes. Luckily for players, coaches and fans, this game finished with a better ending as Bradley found a way to secure a big home victory against Drake, 67-65.

Sophomore center Will Egolf grabbed an offensive rebound and tossed in a fall away shot attempt that broke a 65-65 tie with 1.8 seconds left in the game. "I saw the rim for about a second," Egolf said during the post game radio show.

And though he didn't have a huge stat line (eight points, five rebounds), Egolf was a critical component in the Bradley (11-11, 6-6 MVC) victory.

With the Braves leading 63-62, head coach Jim Les called a timeout with 59.6 seconds remaining. Bradley would eventually get a shot for junior guard Sam Maniscalco, who had been the carrying the Braves the last eight minutes of the game. Maniscalco missed a 3-pointer from the top to the key but Egolf used his long, athletic reach to tip in the miss and extend the lead to three.

Drake's Josh Young slashed to the basket on the next possession and found an open Adam Templeton for a 3-pointer to tie the game with 16 seconds to go. Maniscalco tried a long shot from just inside the arc but it rattled out again. But Egolf was in the right place again and threw in what most would call a "lucky" shot to win it.

Strangely enough, even though Drake (11-13, 6-6 MVC) had three timeouts remaining and 1.8 seconds left, the Bulldogs elected not to call a timeout and missed a long heave at the buzzer.

Even though Maniscalco missed those two late opportunities, he was a true leader on the court the entire game, pacing all scorers with 21 points. One of his favorite offensive moves, the turnaround jump shot after driving into the lane, was really on display. He finished the game playing 38 minutes, making 9-of-14 from the field with three rebounds, six assists and three turnovers.

But it wasn't just Maniscalco's offense that was so critical to the Braves' victory. After Ryan Wedel lit up Bradley for 15 points in the first half, Maniscalco was switched over to guarding Wedel for the majority of the second half. The result: Wedel had zero points and didn't look like the same player.

To cap it all off, Maniscalco became the first Brave since Phillip Gilbert to reach the 1,000 point club in his junior year.

His play was a big reason why, even though Bradley shot 55 percent in the first half, only led by seven points going into the break. When Wedel disappeared from the Drake offense, there was Josh Young. One of better players in the conference during the past three seasons, Young's combination of shooting and slashing to the goal caught the Bulldogs up in the game.

Bradley had an opportunity extend a seven point lead on five separate possessions with the score 54-47 and just under 12 minutes remaining. Young took charge, nailing two 3-pointers and scoring 12 of Drake's next 14 points.

The Braves seemed to have a "bend, don't break" style the entire second half, never pulling away but also never letting Drake take the lead either.

Freshman guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards turned in another dynamite performance off of the bench, logging seven points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and one turnover in 17 minutes. His energy always seems to resonate throughout the whole team whenever he's out on the court - something a box score simply can't tell you.

Senior guard Chris Roberts appeared to gain some confidence after a few shaky performances as of late. He had nine points (3-of-3 from beyond the arc) and could have had more if it weren't for him missing four easy layups. For as explosive of a player as he can be, it's truly baffling how much Roberts struggles to finish near the basket. Give him credit though, he hit a couple big shots when Bradley really needed them and hopefully will build on a good game.

The tenacity from sophomore forward Taylor Brown was back as he nearly had another double-double (14 points, eight rebounds). Even though he's still developing, it's hard to argue that Brown has the talent to be a force in this league for the next two seasons.

With so many positives, like 6th year senior center Sam Singh grabbing nine rebounds off the bench, the only downside had to be the game from junior guard Andrew Warren. His shooting touch has been really shaky, making less than 50 percent of his shots in the last seven games (21-of-60). A lack of confidence has appeared to affect his decision making too, with four questionable turnovers tonight.

Even in Warren's case, who has been a focal point of opposing team's defensive game planning, he managed to come up with a couple important steals. He has such a likable demeanor off the court that it'd be tough not to root for him to snap out of this funk.

Importance of this game

Looking at this game from a bigger perspective, Bradley now holds the tiebreaker over Drake, which could be critical for seeding purposes in the conference tournament. This was the only game in the Valley tonight but tomorrow could create an even more muddled mess.

With Illinois State on the road (where it really struggles) and Missouri State playing at the suddenly vulnerable SIU Arena, the night could end with a five-way tie for fourth place at 6-6. Bradley would be just a game out of third place while also being in danger of being part of the play-in round.

Look for a post sometime after tomorrow's games that publishes my first edition of the tiebreakers for the MVC standings.

Don't be the first

The Braves have until Saturday to prepare for a game at winless Evansville. Though the Purple Aces (6-15, 0-11 MVC) are short on experience and talent, no games are ever a gimme in the Valley. They have given multiple MVC teams a good game at home (lost to Southern Illinois 65-57, to Drake 72-65 and to Indiana State 63-56).

Bradley must get this game if it hopes to rise above the murky middle of the conference sludge.

Illinois State takes first rivalry game easily, 66-47

47	66

Most games have useful building points. But there isn't a positive spin today - Bradley got embarrassed by rival Illinois State, 66-47.

Dinma Odiakosa abused the Braves in the post en route to a career high 25 points to go along with 12 rebounds. The Redbirds' star guard Osiris Eldridge didn't do a ton (13 points on just 5-of-14 shooting) but decisive advantage in rebounding more than made up for his off game.

For the game, ISU (15-7, 6-5 MVC) had a 50-28 rebounding margin. That helped the Redbirds dominate in second chance points (24-2) and points in the paint (34-10) as well.

And for everything the Redbirds did right, Bradley (10-11, 5-6 MVC) seemed to do just as much wrong. In the first half, the Braves shot okay (9-of-21, 42.9 percent) but committed numerous lazy and sloppy turnovers. In the second 20 minutes, not as many possessions were given away. But then the shooting went dramatically south.

At the official timeout (11:28 mark), Bradley had just three points and a nine point halftime deficit had ballooned to 19. The final statistics in the second half were ugly: 5-of-28 shooting (17.9 percent) and 1-of-11 from 3-point range (9.1 percent).

Junior guard Andrew Warren was the only member of the Braves to reach double figures. But, his 11 points came on 3-of-12 shooting and he snared just one rebound. Senior guard Chris Roberts was invisible (3 points, 4 rebounds) and both sophomore forward Taylor Brown and junior guard Sam Maniscalco weren't at their best either, scoring eight and nine points respectively.

But maybe most importantly was the play of sophomore center Will Egolf. For how well he had been playing lately, this was certainly a game to forget for the young man from Alaska. Egolf was overmatched inside against Odiakosa which got him into foul trouble.

As a result, Egolf's final line didn't look good: 13 minutes, two points, 0-for-1 from the floor, two rebounds and four fouls. With the lack of nearly any other post presence, Egolf needs to be on seemingly every night for Bradley to have a shot at winning. For such a young player, and really for any player for that matter, it's an unreasonable expectation.

The Braves need, but never seem to have, a bruiser inside like Odiakosa. Maybe some can argue that these players are hard to come by, but other teams in the Missouri Valley Conference have found them. Southern Illinois had Randal Falker, Wichita State has JT Durley, Creighton has Kenny Lawson and also got great seasons from Anthony Tolliver.

So, unless the entire Bradley team commits to rebounding like it did against Creighton, the Braves are handled easily by powerful post players. Players like sophomore Anthony Thompson can't even get minutes because they'd be tossed around in the post.

Maybe the silver lining is the common concept in sports - "it's just one game". If so, Bradley needs to rebound (literally and figuratively) against Drake and Evansville this week. These are two teams that it should beat if Bradley can find its confidence and forget such a disappointing loss to a rival.

The true colors really shine through as a season goes on. Bradley isn't as good as it looks in some victories and certainly isn't as bad as it looks in losses, especially this one. The Braves are just an average team that will continue to have its ups and downs throughout the remainder of conference play.

Side note: Sophomore guard Eddren McCain returned to action after missing the last two games with a hand injury. He played just five minutes and had one rebound.

Creighton beats the Braves again

73	68

When a team struggles near .500 the whole season, losses can almost be expected. Creighton continued its dominance over the Braves in the Jim Les-era with a 73-68 victory last night in Peoria.

With the win, the Bluejays (11-10, 6-4 MVC) took sole possession of third place in the conference standings. Head coach Dana Altman improved his record to 13-3 all-time against Jim Les' Braves (10-10, 5-5 MVC).

The back story before the game was the absence of Creighton's toxic guard P'Allen Stinnett. All sorts of speculation has been floating around the Internet about why the highly talented Stinnett was suspended indefinitely from the team Tuesday. Whether it related to off-the-court issues or his hot headed personality on the court, one thing could be confirmed in Peoria - the Bluejays were better without him.

Freshman guard Josh Jones, who had zero points in conference play before yesterday, inexplicably made 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and finished with 13 points. More baffling was how the Bluejays made twelve 3-pointers when they had been shooting less than 32 percent on the season.

These are just a few examples of why this game felt like one that Bradley simply was never going to win. Every loose ball seemed to be tipped off a Brave. A couple questionable calls from the officials, including a five-point possession for Creighton, went against Bradley as well. None of these things are excuses, but they all helped contribute to another home loss.

Depth was clearly a factor, too. Creighton, who is known for its frequent (and sometimes excessive) substitutions, played 11 guys. Bradley only played eight men and freshman guard Jake Eastman played just five minutes.

And for all of the fluky occurrences, the Braves simply didn't shoot well enough to win. Bradley had multiple opportunities to tie the score in the final minute of the game but couldn't knock down a key shot. For the game, Bradley made just 5-of-20 attempts from 3-point range.

A commitment has really been made to rebounding better, which is a very encouraging sign. The Braves held a 44-34 advantage overall with sophomore forward Taylor Brown leading the way with 12.

Brown led all scorers with 19 and the rest of the Bradley starters all had at least eight points. But it was the amount of attempts that really held the team back. Senior guard Chris Roberts hit 2-of-10 from the field and junior guard Andrew Warren wasn't much better (4-of-14).

In reality, this wouldn't be such a frustrating loss if it hadn't been for all of the other ones that Bradley gave away earlier in the season. The margin for error is so small that even when an opponent comes out and beats you, it gets even further magnified.

As Egolf goes, so do the Braves

If you're looking for an easy indicator on why Bradley wins or loses, just watch the stat line for sophomore center Will Egolf. He didn't have a bad game at all (10 points, 5 rebounds), but a big reason why the Braves got down big early was that he was on the bench in foul trouble.

Then, as Bradley began to climb back into the game, Egolf was on the court more and managed to limit his fouls. The Braves need to have their Egolf on the floor to be successful. Other guys like Brown or Warren can have off nights and the team can survive.

But with the skill set he possesses, Egolf makes as big of an impact on the outcome of games as much as any other player. Kenny Lawson Jr. was not a great matchup for Egolf against Creighton and Illinois State's Dinma Okiakosa has a similar skill set coming up. We'll see how Egolf fares against the Redbirds' big man.

Still no McCain

Sophomore guard Eddren McCain sat out another game with his hand injury. Varying reports are out there on the severity but he clearly was in enough pain to sit out against the Bluejays. His skill on both ends of the court provide valuable depth that Bradley was missing.

The War on 74

The long awaited first game between rivals Bradley and Illinois State comes up Saturday in Normal. This will be televised regionally so even those of us who have to watch many games on the Internet will be able to tune in on regular cable.

The Redbirds and Braves sit tied in a logjam for fourth place in the Valley. Not only are the usual bragging rights at stake but this may be critical for seeding in the conference tournament as the season winds down.

Nobody ever really knows what to expect in these rivalry games except that they will be entertaining. Here's hoping for another BU-ISU classic.

Bradley wins its third straight, beats Evansville 74-64

64	74

In a season that has had so many unexpected results, Bradley delivered what fans would have hoped: an easy win against the last place team in the league.

All five starters for the Braves (10-9, 5-4 MVC) finished in double figures. Junior guard Sam Maniscalco delivered another great performance, leading the Bradley attack with 19 points, making 7-of-10 from the field. Evansville's Ryan Colt, leading candidate for Freshman of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference, was held to 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting.

The game surely wasn't perfect - Bradley committed 13 turnovers and many were unforced. But even as the Braves hit some rough patches where they couldn't score, the team defense responded by slowing down Evansville (6-13, 0-9 MVC) from making any sort of a comeback.

After the Purple Aces led 6-5 early in the game, Bradley went on a 19-4 run and opened up a 14-point lead. From that point forward, Evansville never got closer than eight points again.

Maybe after giving away so many leads earlier in the season, the Braves have finally learned to not let up and play a full 40 minutes of basketball. At least in the past couple weeks, it seems as if they've really turned the corner.

And what isn't a coincidence is that as Bradley continues to succeed, so does sophomore center Will Egolf. He has shown flashes of brilliance before his injury last season and slowly had been rounding into form as this season has progressed.

Egolf had 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocks against the Purple Aces. During the Bradley winning streak, he has put up an impressive stat line of 13.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG and 2.3 BPG.

His skill set was really evident in this game as he influenced many shots on defense while showing off his smooth outside jump shot and post moves on offense. For a guy who played on the perimeter in high school, Egolf seems to know how good he can be by having a well-rounded skill set, especially against slower, less athletic big men in the Valley.

Settling into roles has been something that the majority of the team has needed to understand. Freshman guards Jake Eastman and Dyricus Simms-Edwards only had four points in the game, but provided energy and tenacity off of the bench, like any good team needs.

Sophomore forward Taylor Brown struggled with foul trouble the whole game, but still managed to contribute 10 points and eight rebounds. And junior guard Andrew Warren had a quiet 17 (if that's really all that possible), scoring in bursts when the Braves needed baskets.

Shortened bench

Sophomore guard Eddren McCain hurt his hand in practice and was in street clothes for the game. According to head coach Jim Les, McCain wanted to play but the team decided it was best for him to sit this one out. His status for next game was uncertain.

Continuing to build

With losses by Illinois State and Wichita State this afternoon, Bradley has really put itself into a position where it can compete for the top few spots in the conference. For now, the Braves have moved into a tie for third place in the Valley and will have a chance to separate from the pack coming up in the next few games.

The next for Bradley is Creighton, who has had a really rocky season by its standards. The Bluejays having a losing record (9-10) and have struggled to stay afloat at 4-4 in conference play. Yet because of head coach Dana Altman and past history, nobody can ever really count this team out of the race.

This will be first game of the season I'll be able to attend at Carver Arena this season. I'm looking forward to catching a game in person after having to watch so many on the Internet/TV.

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

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.