Bradley basketball has officially hit rock bottom.
The Braves were dismantled 69-57 by the Drake Bulldogs, a score which in no way depicts how bad the Braves played. Hours later, junior guards Warren Jones and Ka’Darryl Bell were arrested and ticketed, respectively, outside of a strip club in downtown Peoria.
The game and the 12 hours following not only tell the story of the season to this point, but also signal how low the basketball program has sunk.
In January, the Braves have won two Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) games against Southern Illinois and Missouri State, but are still winless on the road and are three MVC losses away from their fifth consecutive losing season in conference play.
If the Drake game on Wednesday was any indication, those three losses may come sooner rather than later.
The young Drake team Bradley played on Wednesday is in last place in the MVC, and the Bulldog’s offense had its way with the Braves’ defense for the majority of the game.
“Our record will indicate we’re not a great team, that’s obvious,” head coach Geno Ford said. “Defensively, when we get spotty, we become a bad team.”
The Bulldogs shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half, went into halftime with a ten point lead and finished the game with 55.6 percent from the field.
“They moved it wherever they wanted,” Ford said. “We had several areas where we weren’t very good…That’s not the level of defense we expect and we need to [have].”
As bad as Bradley played in the game, they did bring the Drake lead down from 15 points to seven with 6:05 to play.
However, the Braves were plagued by a five-minute scoring drought that was eventually broken by a Josh Cunningham free throw with 1:04 to play. By that time, the Braves found themselves down 13, and out of the game.
As abominable as the Braves were in all phases of the game, true freshman Josh Cunningham was the lone bright spot, as he notched his third double-double of the season by recording 15 points and 16 rebounds.
“That will become more of a normal game for him, thats something he can do night in and night out,” Ford said. “He’s a special player. He’s been, at times, our best player, and tonight, by a mile.”
Cunningham and Jones were the only players in double figures for the night, as Jones added 18 points, but his defensive play made him a liability on the floor.
But, as Ford said, having only one player on their game usually spells doom for any team.
“You’re not going to be able to win with one guy clicking and another guy giving you a little bit of offense,” Ford said. “That’s not going to do it.”
The Braves play at Indiana State in Terre Haute, Indiana this Saturday, then return home for a tilt against 13th ranked Wichita State at Carver Arena.
