38 days.
This was the last time Bradley men’s basketball had tasted defeat. The Braves entered a sold-out arena in enemy territory last Saturday with a nine-game win streak and with hope of making it 10.
“We made a lot of mental mistakes that led to some big threes and big shots from them, transition defense hurt us in the second half and obviously in overtime it killed us,” Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said.
The Braves (15-6, 7-3 MVC) traveled down to Terre Haute to face off against the Indiana State Sycamores (18-3, 9-1 MVC) in front of a full house at the Hulman Center. After Indiana State conquered Carver Arena earlier this season, the Braves had a chance to avenge themselves.
While the first half displayed a tight defensive battle, the second half was a shoot-out with each team scoring close to 50 points. After eight ties in the second half, the Braves took a two-point advantage after senior Darius Hannah brought down a dunk that gave the Braves a 78-76 lead with 51 seconds left.
With the game tied and after a pair of Sycamore free throws, Bradley had one more chance to end it in regulation. Hannah drove through the heart of the paint looking for a clear angle, but found a shot that came up short.
With the clock expiring and with the game still tied at 78, overtime in Indiana followed.
Despite the Braves’ familiarity with overtime games this season, Indiana State pushed through, holding the Braves to 2-6 from the field and 2-5 from beyond the arc. While Bradley had their fair share of overtime victory joy, this one didn’t go their way as they lost the contest 95-86, snapping their win streak.
“We wanted to get that one, keep the streak going, but we’re going to start it back up,” senior Duke Deen said.
Despite the defeat, Bradley kept the Sycamores in their closest game this season, made possible by Deen’s career night. With 31 points, going 11-20 and scoring six 3-pointers, it’s an understatement to say that Deen played a large role, staying aggressive even during a difficult first half.
“His fire and his competitive spirit, we fed off it in the second half, our guards played way better in the second half,” Wardle said.
Trading shots in the first five minutes, senior Malevy Leons tied the game at eight with a jumper near the paint. Early on Bradley attacked the Sycamores through the key, putting up 12 points.
While the Braves found their way in the paint, Indiana State found their spark on offense, moving the ball around the court to generate four assists in the first few minutes of the game. Closing off any breathing room, Indiana State forced Bradley into two shot clock violations in the first frame.
Generating stops and putting up treys, freshman Almar Atlason led the Braves through the first quarter with 10 points, going 3-5 from the field. After a resounding swat, Atlason buried a three on the other end of the court to bring the Braves within one with 9:45 left in the half.
While Bradley’s youth was showing up in the first half, Indiana State’s veteran and theme night honoree was finding it hard to generate shots. Forward Robbie Avila played a big part in the Braves downfall at Carver Arena earlier in the season, but this time the Braves came prepared, holding the forward to just one make in the first half.
The tide started to turn as the Braves went over four minutes without scoring while the Sycamores added five points, making the score 23-17 with 5:17 to go. Bradley responded to that six-point run with two consecutive treys from Deen and Atlason, tying the game up at 23 all. Close to the end of the half, Indiana State went on a seven-point run to take a 33-29 advantage to the locker room.
“We were down four going at the half so we felt like it was a good spot,” Deen said.
As the second quarter started, the shoot-out commenced.
The Braves shot 20-28 from the field and 7-9 from the three-point line, while the Sycamores shot 15-29 and 6-14. Bradley reclaimed the lead midway through the third frame from a pull up jumper from Deen.
Like a hammer through a landmine, Deen sank his sixth three to give Bradley a 63-58 edge, their biggest advantage of the night with 11:02 left.
“They just told me to keep shooting,” Deen said. “Coach [Mike] Black got with me during half time and told me ‘this is your half, just stay aggressive’.”
Despite the onslaught from Deen, Indiana State grew a seven-point lead with 5:43 left. A big part of the Sycamores attack that prevailed through both halves was guard Ryan Conwell, who finished the contest with 22 points.
Not much separated both sides in regulation as the game was brought into overtime, where Indiana State strung together a defensive and offensive effort that gave them the sweep over Bradley.
“You can’t win shoot-outs on the road and we didn’t really defend in the second half,” Wardle said.
Bradley comes back to Peoria to face a wounded Northern Iowa (12-9, 6-4 MVC), who had their five-game win streak ended by Drake on Jan. 27.
