The Bradley men’s basketball team walked back onto the court after halftime, leading Division III North Central College 46-29.
Outside, the winter chills felt like -2 degrees, but inside, thousands of fans packed the Renaissance Coliseum to watch the Braves for the first time since 2014.
As the whistle blew and play resumed, Bradley got right back to business.
Senior center Ahmet Jonovic laid in a two over his left shoulder, and sophomore point guard Jaqauan Johnson knocked down two free throws to push the lead to 21.
But the Cardinals wouldn’t go quietly.
Sophomore forward James Bullock knocked down three consecutive triples with Jonovic guarding him to cut the lead to fourteen.
The lack of defensive focus was enough to make head coach Brian Wardle want to pull his hair out, and he signaled for a timeout in frustration.
“After a guy hits a three on you, you’ve got to adjust as a player,” Wardle said. “You get another step higher or you get another step closer. He [Bullock] only had one three on the year, so the first one I didn’t mind, but then it was the second one, and then we gave up a third one. One guy just kinda went on a run.”
In the timeout, Wardle reiterated the need for the Braves to increase their effort, defend in help and contest shots.
Bradley responded immediately, with freshman point guard Montana Wheeler in the driver’s seat.
A drive to the rim plus a foul began his course – then he followed with back-to-back threes in transition.
Two scores, one from the Cardinals and then a put-back dunk courtesy of forward AJ Smith, quieted his barrage momentarily, before a third triple capped his 11-point run to push the Braves’ lead to 22.
“Some people call it a flow state,” Wheeler said about his flurry in the second half. “I’m a player at the end of the day; these are the moments that I dreamed of. I used to watch my brother play on TV all the time. So, me finally being on this stage is something I’m not going to take for granted.”
Bradley never looked back after Wheeler’s pushstart, completely flipping the switch from their struggles in the first half. The Braves pressured the ball more, contested more of North Central’s shots and rebounded the ball better.
Bradley struggled to knock down open looks from three but survived the poor shooting by forcing 26 turnovers, leading to 27 points, with the bulk of the production coming in transition.
The Braves held North Central to 26 percent from the field in the second half and cruised to an 86-53 win, easing some tension as a stressful finals week comes to a close.
“It was fun playing at the Renaissance Coliseum,” Wardle said. “We’re grateful for our fans who came out. It was a Sunday afternoon outside the season ticket package, but it was an excellent game for us. Our guys really enjoyed playing here today and it was a nice break from finals.
“We were a little up and down, a little too inconsistent for me,” Wardle continued. “I thought we played a little harder in the second half at times — which is good. We shared it the right way. We almost overshared it at times, and we obviously didn’t shoot it great from three or the free-throw line. But I think if we make our free throws a little bit better, and we make some of those open threes, it could have been even a better performance.”
Season two starts now
After a tumultuous start to the season, the victory marked Bradley’s fifth straight win and ended its non-conference schedule at 6-4.
Through the ups and downs of the season, the Braves learned a lot about themselves.
“I thought we got better,” Wardle remarked about the team’s progress this season.
“With eight underclassmen, a lot of newcomers, and a lot of young guys new to Division I minutes, it was going to take a little bit — this non-conference — and it did. We started a little slow, but I thought we kept getting better and better,” Wardle said.
“We lost some close games to good teams, but we improved in our continuity. The team is coming a little closer together, and we’re definitely practicing better for longer periods. This is a team that’s got to evolve throughout the year and keep growing, and I think that’s what we’re going to work towards every day,” he said
Conference play begins Thursday at 6 p.m., when the Braves travel to Terre Haute, Indiana, to play Indiana State.
The team that has battled through and become closer because of it will need every ounce of continuity as the grueling conference season begins.
“It’s going to be a lot of ups and downs,” Johnson said. “It’s about the team that sticks together. You want to improve throughout the season to play your best basketball in March, but I’ve seen a lot of teams get down on each other, or the coaches stop carrying. We have to stick together and get better every day.”
