When Jaquan Johnson and AJ Smith showed up to their post-game presser, you could sense the defeat in their body language.
Just 25 minutes earlier, the two were celebrating after an electric game-tying shot from Johnson, one that felt like deja vu to other games the Braves have played this season.
But instead of reveling in the comeback, the two appeared dejected as they spoke just moments later.
“It’s just a bad taste that we all have,” Smith said. “We know we could have won that game.”
Johnson’s shot was not the first clutch make the Braves had against Illinois-Chicago on Tuesday, nor was it even Johnson’s first clutch make of the contest. But it certainly felt like it was going to be the one to push Bradley over the edge in their push to secure the two seed entering Arch Madness.
Unlike their other overtime contests this season, though, the cracks that plagued the Braves throughout the game came back to haunt them.
Same script, different night
The signs had been there before.
Exactly one month prior to Tuesday’s matchup, Bradley and Illinois-Chicago faced off at Carver Arena in a contest that saw the Flames burn the Braves with relative ease.
Bradley’s defense couldn’t contain Illinois-Chicago’s guards, losing by 15 in a game where the scoreboard felt closer than the actual result.
“We’re not a good defensive team,” Braves head coach Brian Wardle said after the loss on Jan. 24. “I can’t work on defense more than trying to get them to buy into that’s how you win in this league, or any conference in general. Defense has to outlast your offense. We can’t do that yet.”
The return matchup at Credit Union 1 Arena was an opportunity for Bradley to avenge that blowout loss and showcase an improved, bought-in defense. Especially coming off the rivalry win over Illinois State, the ingredients were perfect for the Braves as they made the journey to Cook County.
Instead, they left the Windy City with the same frustrations that sat with them a month prior.
“We did not defend well at all the whole game,” Wardle said. “Defensively, we weren’t committed to winning, and that’s unfortunate because it is a big game, and they knew that. I don’t know why we’re not defending better. We should be a better defensive team, but for some reason we weren’t committed to it tonight.”
The defensive woes Wardle referenced were evident from the start. The Flames burst out to an 11-point lead by halftime and were shooting 55 percent from the field. Though the Braves punched back early in the second half, Illinois-Chicago was able to respond to every run they seemed to make.
“We just started off slow,” Smith said. “We kind of picked it up late, and it was just too late. We let them have momentum early; we were down 11 going into halftime. And whenever you give a team confidence like that, it’s going to be hard to beat them.”
Fire without finish
With just eight minutes left to play, Johnson, Bradley’s leading scorer, had put up just three points. If the Braves wanted to find a way back into the game, they were going to need him to step up.
As he has seemed to do all season, Johnson delivered, finishing the game with 25 points, including his equalizing three-pointer in the first overtime.
“Just going up and being aggressive,” Johnson said of his performance after the first half. “I felt like going as aggressive as I was in the second half, just knowing what I’m capable of doing and taking the open shots that they give me.”
Bradley nearly missed out on overtime entirely. With two minutes to play, Flames guard Elijah Crawford laid in a bucket to extend their advantage to eight. Johnson quickly punched back for six points, though, and with 6.5 seconds to play, he was set up with the ball under the basket with the Braves trailing by three.
As had happened many times this season, the ball found its way to the hands of graduate guard Alex Huibregtse, who drained the shot to send Bradley to overtime.
“[Huibregtse] wasn’t in a lot in the second half because of defensive reasons, but I thought he could come in and get a big shot for us,” Wardle said. “It was a play that we’ve worked on in practices and shoot arounds, but hadn’t used it yet all year, and it got us a three.”
“We execute some good things out of timeouts to get our open threes to tie games and go to overtime,” Wardle added. “But we were playing with fire. When you play defense like we were, you’re playing with fire. It’s hard to win shootouts on the road; you’ve got to play better defense to win on the road.”
While playing with fire may not have cost them in the first overtime, largely thanks to Johnson’s heroics, the Braves’ defense burned out in the second as Illinois-Chicago drained multiple big shots and stopped Bradley’s offense.
“Defense wins right now,” Wardle said. “They made the big shots in the second overtime and we did not. We’ve got to guard; we’ve got to be more consistent in each half. We’ve got to take pride in getting stops.”
The Braves have no time to dwell on the bad taste this performance may leave in their mouths. They now find themselves in a three-way tie for second place in the Missouri Valley with the Flames and Murray State. The Racers visit Peoria on Sunday for the final game of the regular season.
“This game coming up on Sunday is very important,” Smith said. “We’ve got to be ready to play and go out there and put everything on the line to get ourselves set up for Arch Madness.”
