There are few things in sports that are better than rivalry games.
Team records don’t matter; fans pack the stands and each team throws the kitchen sink at each other to have bragging rights for the year.
The rivalry between Bradley (18-3, 9-1 MVC) and Illinois State (12-9, 4-6 MVC) dates back to 1905. The two schools are separated by 40 miles and have met 139 times.
Many players have donned both jerseys, but the tradition has stayed the same. The two teams may share mutual respect, but they do not like one another.
“They’re [Illinois State] cool, but we really don’t mess with each other like that,” senior guard Duke Deen said. “They’re 20 minutes away, but it feels like three hours. I don’t go over there, and they don’t come over here.”
The 139th iteration of the War on I-74 resembled a basketball game from the 1980s. Both teams played scrappy and physical defense, ran their offense through the post and scored most of their points in the paint.
Ultimately, the Braves left the street fight with the fewest bruises, winning the game 61-57 and improving their winning streak against the Redbirds to six games.
“Every team is going to give us their best shot,” Deen said. “They might even go away from their game plan. We just have to be prepared and just stick to our principles. We stayed solid and took the punches they gave because it was a game of runs. We stayed solid and even-keeled. I’m confident in this team that we can come out on top.”
Five hundred-pound heavyweight match
Illinois State controlled the game early, jumping to a 15-8 lead through the first seven minutes. The Redbirds played through their versatile forwards and bigs, who knocked down shots from the outside in pick-and-pop actions.
Bradley struggled with turnovers, losing the ball on four different occasions to begin the game, but a few timeouts and substitutions got the Braves in rhythm. Freshman guard Jaquan Johnson and senior guard Connor Dillon spearheaded a 5-0 run to cut the lead to two, and after this sequence, the game slowed down.
Illinois State looked to their 6-foot-9-inch, 270-pound center Chase Walker to create offense for them as he has all season. Walker is a skilled post scorer who uses his size and footwork to dominate opponents in the post. He’s averaged nearly 15 points and shot 63 percent at the rim.
Unfortunately for the Redbirds, Walker was met by 7-foot-1-inch, 250-pound center Ahmet Jonovic. “Meta,” as his teammates and coaches call him, stifled Walker’s attempts to score. Jonovic held him to one-for-five shooting in the first half and forced a turnover.
“Meta’s a brick wall,” Deen said. “It’s like running into an Ox. I heard it. It was like boom. They’re a combined, like 500 pounds. Oh my god. I didn’t want any parts of it down there, not with Chase. I’m cool. I’ll let Meta handle that.”
Fans seemed to enjoy the battle between the two bigs. Braves fans cheered Jonovic on as he got physical with Walker and Illinois State fans yelled for foul calls. Head coach Brian Wardle saw it as refreshing and reminded him of when he played at Marquette.
“That was fun to watch,” Wardle said. “That was an old-school throwback. That’s what I played in the 90s. I love that the refs let them play, too, because I think that was fun for everyone to see. Walkers is a really good player. Meta did a great job on him. I thought Meta played well today. He had nine rebounds, a couple of blocks and altered shots. Overall, he’s been playing well for us. He’s making winning plays and helping us win games.”
Defensive chess match
Jonovic’s teammates matched his physicality and effort. Bradley held Illinois State to eight-for-28 (28.6 percent) shooting from the field and five-for-17 (29.4 percent from three. The Braves fought through screens, fronted on mismatches in the post and used their length to create turnovers.
“I knew coming in that we were going to have to defend,” Deen said. “I think last year it was 48-45. It was a slugfest last year, so I knew it would be a slugfest this year. They kind of ran the same thing over and over again. You really can’t do that against us because we key in on it. Then, it’ll be hard to get shots up.”
The Redbirds matched Bradley’s intensity and pulled out a defense they had not used all year. Illinois State did their best to deny handoffs and guard the three-point line and found success in the first half, holding the Braves to two-for-nine (22.2 percent) from behind the arch.
“I’ll give Illinois State some credit,” Wardle said. “They played a 2-3 matchup zone. They haven’t played it all year. Not one possession in 20-something games. They threw it in. We knew they were going to throw the kitchen sink at us to win this game. The zone kind of slowed us up and got us a little hesitant. We worked on it in practice the other day for about 10-15 minutes, but we really didn’t think they’d do it.”
At the break, Bradley went into the locker room with a 28-26 lead.
Round two knockdown
Illinois State started the second half on a 4-0 run, but then the Braves clamped down. Bradley forced the Redbirds to miss 13 shots in a row and forced several turnovers. The Braves’ defense allowed their offense to get going and began to hunt mismatches in the post. Seniors Darius Hannah, Christian Davis and Zek Montgomery backed down smaller defenders and finished over the top.
Bradley went on a 12-0 run that reached its climax when Johnson finished a layup over two defenders for an and-one, setting Carver Arena on fire.
“He made two big energy plays for us,” Wardle said in reference to Johnson. “He brings toughness, he brings strength, and as long as he’s locked in defensively and not giving up any threes, he’s going to play a lot more.”
Redbirds fight back
Illinois State was down 40-30, with their backs against the wall. The Redbirds were in enemy territory, with thousands of fans cheering on the Braves. However, it showed resilience.
After a timeout to stop the bleeding, Illinois State knocked down three straight threes to cut the lead to one.
The momentum swung in the Redbird’s favor, and they were on the brink of upsetting the first seed in the Missouri Valley Conference standings.
“We knew they’d get a punch in,” Montgomery said about Illinois State’s run. “We had to take that punch and that’s what we did. Everything felt the same going against Illinois State. That’s the big-time rivalry in this league. We knew they’d come out and give us a fight.”
Atlason tags in
Wardle put sophomore Almar Atlason in the game amid Illinois State’s run, hoping to give Bradley a bit of a spark off the bench. Atlason’s role has decreased throughout the season after beginning the year as a starter.
As the Redbirds mounted their comeback, Atlason made big plays down the stretch to help the Braves win the game. With the game tied 48-48 and three minutes left to play, Atlason knocked a three to give Bradley some cushion. It was the first three he’d made since Jan. 8 against Drake.
“My boy Al stepped up,” Deen said. “Played some defense today. Gave us five points. Hit a big-time three. I think his confidence is going to skyrocket back up. If he hits his threes, we are going to be even more deadly.”
Despite the reduced role, Atlason has handled the move to the bench well, with support for his teammates.
“We’re all brothers around here,” Deen said. “We all know what we got to do. That’s just a testament to his maturity. He could have checked out. He could have said forget it; I’m not doing this. He’s trying to get better every day. He knows what he has to get better at and he’s been working at it. We all respect him.”
Batman and Robin deliver the knockout punch
After Atlason’s three to take the lead, Bradley looked to their star backcourt to close the game. Montgomery and Deen both made big shots down the stretch to secure the win.
“That’s what they needed me to do,” Deen said about a clutch jumper he made. “They trust me to do that. If I’m not taking it, Zek is taking it. We just have to step up in the moment. Be confident in yourself.”
“He’s Batman, and I’m Robin,” Montgomery said about the duo. “I’m his sidekick.”
With the win, Bradley extended its streak against in-state opponents to 20 games. The Braves will look to increase that mark to 21 on Wednesday, Jan. 29, against UIC.
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