With 1:13 to play, the Bradley men’s basketball team trailed 60-57 against Washington State.
The Cougars walked into the Civic Center and were on the verge of marking their territory.
After a timeout to draw up a play, the Braves ran a set to get sharpshooter Alex Huibregtse a three-point look.
Junior center Ahmet Jonovic set a flare screen for Huibregtse that got him open for a three, but Jonovic’s man helped and Huibregtse couldn’t get the shot off.
Instead, he found Jonovic in the short roll, and then Jonovic found junior guard Demarion Burch for an open three.
Burch drained it.
The crowd inside the arena erupted into cheers, and the guard put three fingers to the sky in celebration.
“Coach needed someone to knock down a shot, and I was there to knock down a shot,” Burch said. “In our workouts and practices, it’s reps, reps, reps, reps. I got the opportunity to knock down a big shot in the game, and it went in. It was definitely a great experience to be in.”
A Jonovic Jam
The game was tied at 60; Bradley needed a stop.
With 50 seconds to play, the Cougars set a back screen on Jonovic, freeing up junior forward ND Okafor for a layup.
Jonovic was able to recover slightly, but Okafor still got an open hook shot.
It rimmed out, and the Braves had a chance to take the lead.
Senior forward AJ Smith grabbed the rebound, and head coach Brian Wardle called a timeout to draw up another game-defining play.
After the timeout, Bradley got the ball to sophomore Jaquan Johnson at the top of the key, with the other four offensive players along the baseline (1-4 flat).
Burch rose to the perimeter to set a ghost screen in an attempt to get Johnson going downhill.
Johnson drove, the defense committed and he dumped it off to Jonovic for the go-ahead slam.
“It was a good call by Bobby [Suarez] on my staff,” Wardle said about the go-ahead play. “Little tale cut with Burch, who was hot and making big plays. We were trying to get Quanny [Johnson] downhill to his left hand. We told them that if they helped, then the lob would be there. We found the drop off, and he finished it quickly and hard.”
The Braves took the lead 62-60 and never looked back, getting another stop and then knocking down two free throws to seal the 64-60 win to move to 5-4 on the season.
On its face, the win pushed Bradley to above .500 for the first time this year, but how they accomplished it was unique.
A historic win
Before Tuesday, the Braves played eight games in which they shot below 40 percent from the field, below 25 percent from three-point range, below 60 percent from the free-throw line and were outrebounded by 10 or more.
Bradley was 0-8 in those contests.
Against Washington State, the Braves shot 35.5 percent from the field, 23.3 percent from three, 59 percent from the stripe and were outrebounded 41-31.
But somehow, they came away with the win.
“Ultimately, it shows our fight,” freshman point guard Montana Wheeler said. “This team is getting better every day, and this game was a testament to that. We fight and keep fighting. Our motto this offseason was focus and fight. For 40 minutes, I think we focused and fought really well.”
Despite its offensive struggles, Bradley was able to stay in the game, because – unlike other games this season – they didn’t let missed shots on offense bleed into defense.
The Braves dominated the possession battle, forcing 20 turnovers and scoring 23 points off the Cougars’ mishaps. Bradley totaled 15 more shots than Washington State, scored 15 points in transition and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds, leading to 14 second-chance points.
“We had to do it with toughness, and battling and just grinding out possessions and finding ways to win with some offensive rebounds,” Wardle said about the last-minute win. “We missed a lot of free throws, too. I mean, the ball was just not going in consistently. Thank goodness O [Burch] could make some shots for us, and Montana made some big ones.”
A backcourt that balled
Burch and Wheeler led the way, combining for 38 of Bradley’s 64 points and keeping the Braves in the game while their teammates struggled offensively.
Burch finished with 23 points, his second consecutive 20-point game after returning to the starting lineup from a hamstring injury earlier in the year. Despite the setback to begin the season, he’s remained level-headed, and the results are starting to show.
“It just feels good,” Burch said. “I just have to get my rhythm back, and it takes time to come back off a calf injury. I’m just glad I can be out here and stay prayed up. My guys, like my teammates and coaches, are just keeping me engaged and letting me know everything is going to be all right – just giving me confidence. That’s what it was today; I was just super confident.”
Burch has taken that confidence and instilled it in Wheeler, his younger teammate, who, despite being a freshman, has played with a ton of energy and decisiveness off the bench this season. He finished the game with 15 points, three assists and three steals.
“I’m around a group of guys, like O and my other teammates, who actually believe in me,” Wheeler said about his play to begin the season. “They encourage and empower me in everything I do. Whether I miss a shot, or turn it over, or miss free throws like I did tonight, they keep encouraging me. When you have guys and a group of people who instill life in you, it’s hard not to succeed. It was due to happen for sure.”
Bradley will need to emulate the confidence Burch and Wheeler displayed in the win as the season continues. The Braves have struggled to shoot the ball at the Carver Arena this year. In fact, Bradley is shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three at home, compared to 44.2 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three away from Carver.
“We’ve got to shoot the ball in this building more confidently,” Wardle said after the win. “We looked hesitant again. We did not last week in Orlando. We have to come in here and be more confident and believe in our stroke and let it right, and the ball will go in.”
The Braves’ first step in their quest to shoot better at Carver will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. vs. Northern Illinois University.
