There’s a little more than an half hour until tip-off and the Bradley faithful have already let their presence be felt. As the team exited the court for their final trip to the locker room, the crowd gave the Braves an ovation. The crowd is starting to fill in and this game is shaping up to be the liveliest thus far in the tournament. So far, the tournament as played out like the seeding had predicted, aside from the Bradley-Creighton game. Number one ranked UNI knocked off Drake yesterday in the game before Bradley played. Number two and three seeds, Wichita State and Illinois State won as well. UNI entered the crowd to a very loud ovation with about 25 minutes until the tip-off. Roughly five minutes later, Bradley entered to the same ovation. The intensity is up from yesterday’s slate of games.
It’s within the final ten minutes and the crowd is filled with purple and red. President Glasser is sporting a red feather boa. The Bradley fight song signals the arrival of the Braves to the court. The layup lines have formed and the game is almost set to begin.
Taylor Brown’s dance moves set off the player intros for the Braves. The black unis are making their second consecutive appearance.
Farokhmanesh starts the game off with a quick layup out of the tip. He follows that with a three on the next possession. Chris Roberts’ baby hook puts the Braves on the board. Eglseder gets a putback to make the score 7-2. Adam Koch hits two free throws to extend the Panthers’ lead to seven.
After much deliberation, the Braves miss a shot and a Will Egolf foul leads to the entry of the Fiji Monster, Sam Singh. Egleseder hits a tunraround jumper to make the lead 11-4. An open-floor foul on Chris Roberts leads to a TV timeout.
The Panthers start with the ball and a 14-6 lead. A Will Egolf steal gives the Braves the ball back and the Panthers take it right back. The Panthers take a 19-6 lead into a Bradley timeout.
Chris Roberts comes out of the timeout and hits a turnaround jumper in the lane. Taylor Brown hits a jumper to get the Braves in double digits. Johnny Moran hits a layup. Panthers take a 21-10 lead into the TV timeout.
Eglseder hits one of two from the line. Warren is fouled and hits the layup. He makes the freebie for the three point play. Marc Sonnen hits a three to get those points back. An offensive foul on Roberts leads to Maniscalco’s return to the floor. Maniscalco finds himself in familiar territory and hits two free throws. Moran hits another three to extend the Panthers’ lead. Mainscalco draws the foul and hits both again. Adam Koch finishes an alley-oop on the other end. Warren knocks down two more free throws. Eglseder hits a wide open layup and the Braves take a timeout with the score 32-19.
Sonnen hits a long two along the baseline. UNI calls a timeout.
Taylor Brown is called for goaltending and the Braves head into the half down 36-19.
The half starts with a plethora of missed shots and turnovers. More than two minutes in, Warren starts the offense with a layup. Egolf leaves with a wound on his face. Sam Singh misses a putback. Northern Iowa takes a timeout with 15 point lead.
Warren draws a foul and hits both freebies. Maniscalco misses a baseline layup. Kerwin Dunham hits a layup and makes a free throw to complete the three point play. Panthers have a 41-23 lead with 13 and a half to go. Roberts comes up with a steal and dishes to Maniscalco for the layup. Singh travels and the Panthers take a 41-25 lead into a timeout.
Eglseder comes out of the timeout and hits a three point play. Roberts draws a foul and goes to the line. He hits one of them, which gives the Braves their first miss from the line. Adam Koch hits a three for the Panthers. Panthers take a 50-26 lead into a Braves timeout.
Warren draws a foul and makes one freebie. Warren draws another foul and hits both free throws. Eastman hits a three to bring the lead down to 18. Eastman is whistled for a foul and it leads to a TV timeout.
Egolf corrals a rebound out of the timeout. Sonnen hits a layup to extend the lead to 20. Simms-Edwards gets those points right back. Maniscalco hits a jumper to cut the lead to 16. UNI misses a dunk and a layup but gets the loose ball after the second miss. A Maniscalco foul leads into a TV timeout.
Roberts is called for goaltending after the timeout. Egolf scores a quick basket in transition off a feed from Maniscalco. Eddren McCain, Ryan Phillips and Milos Knezevic enter the game. Phillips hits a turnaround jumper to cap the scoring. UNI wins 57-40.
