BLOG
Twelve minutes to tip-off and we are courtside at Carver Arena awaiting the showdown between Bradley (2-1) and Big South Conference members Presbyterian (0-3). With the Blue Hose's top three 2008-09 scorers electing to redshirt this year, all signs point to a Bradley blowout tonight, but stranger things have happened I suppose.
The Braves are coming off a nail-biting 56-54 win over Wofford on Sunday and they will be the heavy favorites against a Presbyterian team that has been beaten by Clemson (84-41), Furman (68-64) and Illinois (94-48). Look for the Bradley regulars to get some extra rest tonight, not only for blowout's sake, but because the Braves will be looking to save their legs for this weekend's trip to Las Vegas, where they will take on Oklahoma State on Friday and either Illinois or Utah on Saturday.
But if the basketball doesn't excite you tonight, the halftime entertainment most certainly will, as perennial crowd-pleasers Quick Change will be mystifying the crowd during the break.
Looking back on this, a Presbyterian win could have me eating a lot of these words...
Right off the bat, we can see that junior Sam Maniscalco is back in the lineup at the point guard position, rather than sophomore Eddren McCain. The rest of the Bradley lineup: junior Andrew Warren, senior Chris Roberts and sophomores Will Egolf and Taylor Brown, back for his second game after a suspension for violating team rules.
Egolf wins the tip and we're away... Bradley feeds Brown in the post on the first possesion, but are unable to come away with a basket.
6-9 freshman Jake Troyli, the Blue Hose's leading scorer coming into tonight, hits a 3 on PC's first possession, but Warren answers with one of his own on the BU end. That becomes Bradley's first 1st half 3-pointer in a while, as the Braves were 0-10 in Sunday's first half.
Warren hits another 3 and at the 15:16 timeout, Bradley quickly leads 12-5. The Braves are showing no signs of the 1st half shooting woes that plagued them in Sunday's game, hitting five of their first seven shots.
Sophomore Anthony Thompson and freshman Milos Knezevic check in for the Braves. Milos makes some waves instantly, hitting a contested 3 for his first points as a Braves. On the other end, he reminds the crowd of his freshman status with a lane violation on a PC free throw.
Also checking in for Bradley, Washington High School grad Dyricus Simms-Edwards. Expect to see quite a bit of these fellas tonight for the above-mentioned reasons. Especially since Knezevic just hit his second 3.
10:15 to play in the first half and Warren has the hot hand for Bradley with 10 points on 4-of-6. Troyli leads the Blue Hose with five points. Bradley 24, Presbyterian 12.
Taylor Brown gets the Bradley faithful out of their seats twice in 10 seconds, first blocking a Troyli dunk on the PC end and then throwing down a massive alley-oop from Chris Roberts in transition. Brown also has four boards as BU leads the rebounding battle 11-4. It's Bradley by 11 with 6:30 remaining in the opening period.
Presbyterian's Walt Allen chips in a layup to bring the Blue Hose within six, but Milos "Sideburns" Knezevic answers right back with another 3 and a quality defensive rebound - his fourth of the night. At the 3:43 timeout, it's Bradley 33, PC 24.
A Blue Hose press breaker results in an easy layup for Chase Holmes to bring PC within seven. Maniscalco comes back and converts a nice 3-point play on the BU end go up 10.
Timeout PC with 1:16 to play. Bradley is having some success working the ball into the post, winning the points-in-the-paint battle, but defense has been lacking, resulting in a number of easy buckets for Presbyterian.
DSE can't throw down a dunk on an alley-oop from McCain, but he converts the layup in traffic before the half. As the buzzer sounds, it's Bradley 42, PC 38.
Bring on Quick Change!
I've never been more frustrated in my life and it has nothing to do with Bradley basketball. After spending 45 minutes (not exaggerated) last night watching Quick Change videos online and seeing it from 30 feet away, I still can't figure out all of their tricks. If you haven't seen Quick Change, you need to look into it. Seriously. Stop reading this blog and do it.
As far as this whole basketball thing goes...
Bradley is dominating on the boards (18-9), but a combination of lackadaisical defense and six turnovers have kept Presbyterian in the gym. Warren leads BU with 12 points, while Milos has 9 and Brown has added six.
On the PC side, Allen, Troyli and Khalid Mutakabbir each have seven points. Mutakabbir also has four assists.
It's starters for both teams to kick off the 2nd half with the exception of PC's Zach Faircloth, who hits an early 3. Despite his unassuming body (6-2, and a generous 175) and babyface, the freshman from Fayetteville, N.C., had 10 rebounds against Top-25 opponent Clemson.
I haven't met many people that can jump higher than me, but Chris Roberts might be one. The senior just skyed for a block and reminded the crowd why he was a fixture of ESPN's Top-10 last postseason.
As soon as I type that, Roberts takes flight again, dunking home a failed Taylor Brown 3-point attempt. Not only has he shown off his springs tonight, but an absolute knack for anticipating the ball. With 14:25 to play it's Bradley 48, PC 33.
Looking down press row, I can see Bradley's Dodie Dunson, who broke both bones in his left forearm in the home opener against Idaho State. Good to see DD back in Carver cheering on the Braves.
Also seen in attendance tonight, former Bradley 3-point specialist Jeremy Crouch.
Taylor Brown has proven in the last two games that he's not just a rebounding machine, but someone that can shoot a pretty nice ball as well. TB is perfect in the second half, hitting 2 of 2 and as it sits, he has a game-high 14 points.
PC isn't having the same luck, hitting just 2-of-8 this half and falling behind 53-35 with 11:39 to play.
Milos hits another long jumper, this time inside the arc. However, like the three buckets beforehand, he quickly backs it up with a "freshman mistake," being called for a touchy foul in the post. Rather than absorbing the contact of the PC bigs, Milos is initiating it, hence the whistle. Those mistakes will go away with time, but we'll take the points for now.
Meanwhile, Troyli, hits a top-of-the-key-3 pointer to bring the Blue Hose within 13 with 8 minutes to play - 55-42.
Troyli hits a pair of freebies to take over the game-high point total (17). Following suit, here comes the Blue Hose, as Mutakabbir lays one in to bring PC within 10 for the first time in a while. Brown answers on the BU end with an up-and-under reverse layup.
Faircloth makes another 3 and it's a single-digit lead. A nine-point lead against this team with 4:38 to play doesn't bode well for a weekend against BCS schools. BU 60, PC 51.
Final media timeout and on a lighter note, I'm thinking about asking PC coach Gregg Nibert after the game where he gets his shirts. Nibbert has been one of the most animated and fired up coaches I've seen, screaming, jumping and even giving a passing official a nice pat on the behind. But through it all, no sign of sweat stains. Unreal.
With 3:53 to play, Warren puts Bradley up 13 with a pair of free throws.
Cause for concern: After Sam Maniscalco made a strange-looking 3-pointer from the corner, he was forced to leave the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury. More details to come, but heading into the weekend without SM certainly doesn't help Bradley's chances.
McCain runs out the clock and BU comes away with the 71-58 win.
POST-GAME THOUGHTS
No official word about Maniscalco, but Coach Les didn't seem too concerned and said that he thought it was just a rolled ankle.
TB continues to show how big he is to this team, recording his first career double-double (19 points, 10 rebs). The shots were falling in a little more typical fashion for Bradley tonight, and I liked the way they continually tried to disrupt the PC zone by feeding Will, Taylor and Chris in the paint. But with that came some forced passes and mindless turnovers that will need to be cleaned up by this weekend.
Milos had some big minutes tonight and it was good to see him knock some shots down and get some confidence after he looked a little lost to start the season. He still made his rookie mistakes, but they were just jittery miscues that should subside with time.
Along the same lines, DSE continued to do all the right things on offense. Les continues to preach about how big of a role these two will play throughout the season (especially with Dunson laid up) and after seeing tonight's game, there is no reason to believe differently.
FINAL LEADERS
Points: BU - Brown 19, Warren 16, Sideburns 11; PC - Troyli 19, Faircloth 14
Rebounds: BU - Brown 10, Roberts 6; PC - Troyli, Holmes 5
Assists: BU - McCain 6, Maniscalco 5; PC - Mutakabbir 6
