While madness has run amok in the Missouri Valley Conference as of late, Bradley (11-10) continued to handle its own business with no frills in a 71-56 victory on the road against Valparaiso (10-11).
“All road wins are good wins,” Wardle said. “Everybody made some big plays in key moments.”
Both teams started the game slow on the offensive end, with the lead exchanging hands six times within the first 10 minutes of the contest.
The Braves and Beacons were plagued by turnovers, as the sides combined for nine turnovers in the first half of the first frame.
After Valpo’s Sheldon Edwards knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 14 with 11:21 remaining in the half, Bradley’s offense turned on the jets, opening up a 24-16 lead, thanks in part to a five point stretch from sophomore forward Jayson Kent.
The Braves’ lead swelled even further before the half, as Bradley snapped off a 10-0 run in the final four minutes before the break, resulting in a 37-22 halftime lead.
The first half prowess was thanks in large part to BU’s shooting from beyond the arc; the Braves knocked down each of their first five 3s, finishing the frame 6-9 from deep and 52% from the floor.
While the first half proved to be a shooting display, the Braves put on a slam dunk contest in the opening moments of the second half.
Junior forward Malevy Leons, Kent, and sophomore forward Rienk Mast all threw down rim-rattlers to put the Braves up 49-30 at the 15:35 mark. Leons and senior center Boya each contributed slams to push the Bradley lead to 55-36 and simultaneously hushing the crowd of 1,220 at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
“That was, like, a special moment cause everyone was having fun,” Boya said with a beaming grin. “I feel like I had to contribute on it cause I was excited to go then.”
“Usually, you don’t do that against Valpo,” Wardle said about the dunks. “I thought the ball movement, the spacing made it difficult for them because they didn’t know if they wanted to guard the three-point line much on us.”
As in any Missouri Valley Conference game this year, the Beacons made a run at the Braves, who endured an 0-10 stretch from the field midway through the second half. However, Valpo could only muster six points during that stretch before Bradley revived itself with a 9-1 run to put the game out of reach at 66-43 with five and a half minutes left.
“I’m always nervous in a way,” Wardle said. “Good nerves, not bad nerves but we have more experience now. We’ve had a lot of halftime leads and we’ve blown some and so I think you go back on those experiences [and ask] ‘Why?’”
Bradley’s run to put the game away was fueled by junior guard Terry Roberts, who dropped in three buckets in that stretch.
Wardle praised the decision-making of Roberts, now a 4-time winner of MVC Newcomer of the Week, who was double-teamed for a large portion of the second half. The junior finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
“He started really passing the ball better in the second half,” Wardle said. “[He was] hitting slips, punishing them when they were doubling him on ball screens and that opened up the lead for us I thought.”
Roberts wasn’t the only Brave with an impressive stat line; Mast continued his tear with 17 points and 6 rebounds while Leons chipped in 12 points and 5 rebounds. Boya impressed off the bench for the third straight contest, adding 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
“He’s just letting the game come to him,” Wardle said about Mast, who’s averaged 18 points a game in the Braves’ last seven games. “He’s just got a real nice calmness and space to his game right now. He’s coming into his own right now, we’ve just got to keep him healthy and fresh.”
“Last time when I was here I was in a [walking] boot, so I think it’s a blessing to be here and help my team,” Boya said.
In the Brave’s last trip to the ARC, Valpo drained an astounding 19 triples in a 91-85 overtime victory. This time around, the Beacons were held to 4-19 shooting from behind the arc. According to Wardle, the outcome hinged on their perimeter defense.
“We wanted to limit threes,” Wardle said. “That was a huge key to the game, a huge key at halftime was ‘How they get back in the game was the 3-point line. I didn’t think they were going to get back in the game from posting up so they got some easy 2’s which was disappointing, but overall I had a feeling we could keep that lead if we weren’t giving up a bunch of 3’s.”
The win marks Bradley’s third in a row, the third time that they have achieved that feat this season. The victory also marked Wardle’s second in a row at the ARC after going his first 10 games on the sideline at Valpo on the losing end.
While spirits are certainly high in the Braves’ locker room ahead of Sunday’s 1 p.m. tip against Indiana State, Mast says the team is focusing on staying even-keeled.
“Let’s not get our confidence too high, it’s one game at a time,” Mast said. “Let’s get a fourth [win in a row] now but overall, we are feeling good.”
That still hasn’t prevented the Braves from enjoying their customary post-victory treat.
“Absolutely, we’re getting our milkshakes,” Wardle said.
