On Sunday evening, the Bradley men’s basketball team (11-2, 2-0 MVC) was on the verge of disaster.
The Braves found themselves up 71-70 with 4.5 seconds left in overtime against Valparaiso (7-6, 0-2 MVC) when senior forward Darius Hannah fouled out as he rotated to try and block a shot. Hannah was dominant before he exited the game, scoring 21 points on 61 percent shooting.
The call was controversial, as Hannah appeared to cleanly block the shot. Fans in Carver Arena erupted into boos as the replay was shown on the jumbotron.
“I saw Al (Almar Atlason) switch onto him as he drove to the right,” Hannah said. “I just came help side, did what I was taught and blocked the shot. I heard the whistle, and I just knew it was on me. I just knew it was on me. I’m like, it’s nothing we can do, man. It’s the refs. It’s basketball. You gotta live another day, man.”
Bradley was a 13.5-point favorite coming into the game, yet the Beacons could’ve won if junior guard Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro knocked down two free throws in the first overtime period.
As he walked to the line, Braves fans were extremely loud in an attempt to distract Monegro from making both free throws to potentially win the game.
It worked.
Monegro missed the first free throw and made the second, tying the game at 71 and forcing double overtime. The fans inside Carver essentially saved Bradley from the season’s biggest upset.
“When he was on the free throw line, I knew he was gonna miss,” senior guard Duke Deen said. “Do you know how loud it was in there? There was no way he was knocking both of those down.”
Deen and senior guard Zek Montgomery made timely shots in double overtime to secure the 81-75 win.
“It was a war,” head coach Brian Wardle said. “It was a physical game. I give Valpo a lot of credit. I thought they were the more physical team for most of the game, but we made big shots and plays, and everybody stepped up at key times.”
How did we get here?
Despite being underdogs, Valparaiso competed with the Braves from the start of the game. The Beacons were physically on both sides of the ball, forcing Bradley into tough shots and controlling the glass.
Hannah and senior forward Christian Davis were the only Braves to score throughout the game’s first ten minutes. Despite not finding a rhythm offensively, Bradley trailed by just five points because they played sound defense, holding Valparaiso to six-of-17 shooting in the frame.
With seven minutes to play in the second half, the Braves found some rhythm. Montgomery led a 10-2 run that gave Bradley a three-point lead, followed by impactful minutes from senior Connor Dillon and freshman Jaquan Johnson.
To put the cherry on top, Deen banked in a full-court heave with two seconds remaining to beat the halftime buzzer. It was one of the longest shots in Bradley’s history and gave the Braves a 36-30 lead at the half.
“That was a bucket,” Deen said. “That’s in range. There is a 60-40 chance when I put it up there. Not 50-50. 60-40.”
Tug of war
The Braves used the momentum from Deen’s shot to open the second half. Before the bucket, Deen struggled to get into a rhythm offensively, but the miraculous heave seemed to get him going. The preseason player of the year started the half with eight quick points to help Bradley’s lead swell to nine.
“Obviously, if you knock one down from 80 feet, it’s going to give you a little boost,” Deen said. “That shot gave me a bit of momentum and got me to be aggressive and stay aggressive.”
The nine-point lead was the largest of the game, but Valparaiso did not give up. Both teams battled, and the Beacons cut the lead down multiple times. With six minutes to play, the tide shifted.
Valparaiso began playing extremely physical defense and attacked the offensive glass, leading to free-throw attempts and open threes. The Beacons went on an 11-2 run and took a 61-59 lead with 1:53 on the clock.
Hannah was a handful
The Braves were reeling, but Hannah, as he has on many occasions this season, stepped up to right the ship. The preseason first-team all-conference selection made a driving layup to tie the game and then free throws to tie again after the Beacons converted on a layup.
The forward continued to dominate in overtime. He played smart, disciplined defense with four fouls and converted bucket after bucket, scoring six of Bradley’s eight points in the period before the foul call that took him out of the game.
“I had to do what I had to,” Hannah said. “It’s my role as a leader and a player on this team. I have to attack and be in attack mode. They switch. I took advantage of the switches. They weren’t really helping or sending doubles, really, so I took my time.”
Montgomery dims the Beacons’ lights
Montgomery stepped up and took over the game with Hannah on the bench, scoring on all three levels. The combo guard took advantage of mismatches, knocked down free throws and got to the cup. He led an 8-1 run to begin double overtime, leading Bradley to the win.
“That’s what he does,” Deen said. “He gets buckets. If they were going to keep putting smaller guys on him, then go to work. Just go put the ball in the cup. That’s what he did. That’s what he does.”
The game on Sunday evening was the Missouri Valley Conference home opener for Bradley and a reminder of how tough competition can be, even in games in which the Braves are heavily favored.
“League plays come down to execution,” Wardle said. “The scouting is good. The preparation is good. Teams are going to take away what you want to do. Everyone knows each other very well. We have to continue to improve and execute better throughout the game.”
Bradley will get another chance to improve on New Year’s Day on the road against a formidable Indiana State team.
