To say Demarion Burch has faced adversity over the last year would be an understatement.
Last season, the Bradley guard missed six games with a foot injury and four more due to illness, setbacks that disrupted his rhythm and muddled his role on a deep roster.
But after finishing the year by starting the Braves’ final three games in their NIT run, Burch entered this season with the expectation of a larger role—and with it, higher standards.
“I feel amazing right now,” Burch said before the season started. “I picked up a routine over the summer. I’m just trying to pick up where I left off at the end of the season. I played pretty well in the last few NIT games we had at the end of the year. I feel like I’m in great condition to play 30 minutes a game. The expectations I have for myself, I still want to win at a high level, but I also want to do what I know I can do best. Coach has allowed me to do that this year, so I’m all in.”
Before Burch could begin to deliver on expectations, he suffered another setback when he hurt his calf during practice before Bradley’s game against Central Michigan.
The junior only missed two games, but when he returned, he lost his starting spot as head coach Brian Wardle tried to find lineups that worked.
However, with third place on the line in the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Invitational against Liberty, Wardle went back to Burch and gave him the starting nod, hoping to take down one of the strongest teams in the tournament.
He showed up and showed out.
Burch scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds while shooting 80 percent from the field.
“It was kind of challenging because I felt I practiced hard, but it doesn’t always click when you come back from injury,” Burch said. “It took some time for me to get back in rhythm, but I’m glad to be back playing at a high level with my teammates.”
Thirteen of Burch’s points came in the first half, as he led the Braves to take a commanding lead against the defending Conference USA champions.
“He was just making plays in transition, getting to the rim, attacking switches,” Wardle said. “I thought this was a game where he could be a problem for them when it comes to going downhill off the dribble, and he made a lot of plays getting downhill and off the dribble. I thought he played really good defense today too. It’s good to learn how to let your defense ignite your offense.”
Taming the Flames
Coming off a tough loss to a strong UC San Diego team on Tuesday, Bradley faced yet another tough task against Liberty, the 102nd-ranked team according to KenPom.
Early on, the Braves figured out the struggles that had haunted them early in the season. The offense was clicking on all cylinders, and the defense was arguably the best it had been all year.
With 3:28 remaining in the first half, Burch took a steal from Jaquan Johnson back to the other end of the court for an easy layup, bringing Bradley’s lead to 41-20. But for the rest of the half, it appeared as though the Flames had figured things out.
A 13-2 run by Liberty cut the Braves’ lead to 10 entering halftime. They came out of the second half on fire too, cutting the lead down to five as their run had reached 18-2. Bradley needed someone to step up and get the game back on course.
That someone turned out to be Alex Huibregtse.
Huibregtse responded on the next possession with a huge three-pointer to end the Braves’ drought from beyond the arc. It was the spark Bradley needed, as the offense began to retake control of the contest.
“I feel real comfortable, my teammates are doing a great job of finding me open,” Huibregtse said. “I’ve been saying it but just playing the percentages, I knew I was going to start getting hot after a slow start and not making the shots like I’m used to. I knew this was coming, and the hard work is paying off.”
Huibregtse finished the day with 12 points, shooting 80 percent from three while also picking up four boards.
“I think for everyone it takes time to find their role, and I think he’s [Huibregtse] getting more comfortable with how we’re using him and how this team needs him,” Wardle said. “[Huibregtse] is a heck of a player and he’s going to be fun to watch as the year goes on, because he’s getting more and more confident with what we’re doing.”
Just a minute after Huibregtse knocked down that three-point shot, the Braves were able to get a bit of luck to fall their way.
Burch was sent to the line and knocked down his first free-throw attempt. His second shot missed, but by a stroke of luck, Timoty van der Knapp’s attempt to rebound the ball was tipped back up and into the basket, essentially giving Bradley a three-point play and bringing the lead back up to nine.
The incident was eerily similar to a play that went against the Braves earlier in the season, when a ball bounced off of Ahmet Jonovic’s head and into the basket in their game against Tennessee-Martin.
“We were due for some lucky bounces,” Wardle said. “We haven’t had much luck so far this season, so we were due for the ball to bounce our way a couple of times, and it happened today.”
Liberty was never able to get the score closer after van der Knapp’s bucket, with every attempt to go on a run being repelled by the Braves. Bradley closed out the game with a 74-64 win, which was significant as it marked the first time they beat a team ranked higher than them in KenPom this season.
“They’ve heard me tell them we can beat these teams,” Wardle said. “We can keep getting better and get to that level. We just weren’t ready to beat these teams yet, and today we were. We were more disciplined, talking, listening to each other and being connected defensively and rebounding. That’s what you have to do against good teams, and you have to do it for long segments. That was the best we’ve been all year. It gives them proof that we can do this, and now we’ve got to keep working and keep trying to improve.”
The win earned the Braves third place at the ESPN Events Invitational, leaving Florida with a record of 4-4 with three non-conference games remaining. They’ll return to Carver Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 2, when they host Washington State at 7 p.m.
