In Bradley’s regular season-ending 79-55 victory over Valparaiso on Saturday night at Carver Arena, the moment of the game didn’t come on a dunk, or a 3-pointer, or even a made shot.
With 20 seconds remaining and Bradley leading by 24, Bradley head coach Brian Wardle took a timeout and pointed to the bench for senior forward Ja’Shon Henry to come into the game.
As the crowd erupted, Henry, who has missed 17 of the team’s last 18 games with a concussion, caught an inbounds pass, was fouled and exited the game with the fans chanting his name.
“All the guys were like ‘J-Hen, we did it, you’re gonna get in,’” Henry said. “I got goosebumps like I used to, just playing… That was an unreal experience.”
“Class move by [Valpo head coach] Matt [Lottich] for letting J-Hen come in, fouling him, and letting him come out,” Wardle said. “You couldn’t have written it out much better than that for us.”
The moment capped off a massive senior night win for the Braves, in which the team honored their four graduating players prior to the contest; Henry, walk-on Riley Burger, Ari Boya and Mikey Howell.
Bradley put the game away in the early going, ripping off an 11-2 run after the game was tied 4-4 to open up a 15-6 lead at the 12:04 mark.
It quickly got worse for the Beacons, who allowed a 19-5 stretch to end the first half – highlighted by nine points from sophomore forward Rienk Mast.
The Braves took a 34-13 lead to the locker room, thanks to staunch defense that held Valpo to 23% shooting as a team, including a 1-8 performance from leading scorer Ben Krikke.
The second half was much of the same, as Bradley never let the Beacons get closer than within 17 points of the lead, and cruised to its 11th win in MVC play.
The route put the focus entirely on the Braves senior group, especially Boya. The 7-foot-1-inch center posted a season high 13 points to pair with five rebounds and five blocks. According to Boya, he owed one last big performance to the fans at Carver Arena.
“[The energy I played with] was because of them,” Boya said. “It was my last game in Carver Arena. I felt like I had to give everything for the fans for the love that they gave me for four years.”
With 3:13 remaining and the Braves ahead by 27, Wardle put Burger back into the contest for the first time since the opening minutes and the Orono, Minnesota native made the most of it.
On his first offensive possession, Burger caught a pass on the right wing, charged towards the hoop, and euro stepped through the lane before finishing a left handed layup for his first career bucket in a Bradley uniform.
“I just heard all my teammates going crazy, it was amazing,” Burger said of the moment.
“Riley’s gotten better every year,” Wardle said. “He doesn’t get to show it in the games. But in practice, every year he became a better player, a smarter player… He has done that in practice at times.”
Henry was the only Braves senior not to score, as Howell chipped in a point on a made free throw in the first half, in addition to six assists and four rebounds.
Howell played in front of both of his parents and grandfather, who made the trip from Southern California to be in attendance. Originally, Howell only expected his father and grandfather to make it, but was surprised prior to the game.
“Right before the game, one of the coaches called me out,” Howell said. “They were like ‘come take a photo with a fan,’ and I pop out and it’s my mom. It was one of the best surprises I’ve ever had. She never surprises me, it’s always the other way around.”
Mast led Bradley with a 22-point, 11-rebound performance, his eighth double-double of the season. Freshman guard Connor Hickman found double figures for the second straight game, knocking in 14 points, missing just one of his six shots.
Bradley finishes the regular season 17-13 overall and 11-7 in Valley play, good for the No. 5 seed in next week’s Arch Madness tournament. The Braves will matchup with No. 4 seed Loyola-Chicago, by virtue of its loss at Northern Iowa today.
Bradley split the season series with the Ramblers, losing on the road in overtime in January, before prevailing at home in February.
“We’re excited – it’s a great opportunity,” Wardle said. “I like our matchups. It’s going to be fun to see this young group in their first time at Arch Madness.”
Bradley will have a day off Sunday before looking ahead to prepare for the conference tournament on Monday. But for Henry and Boya, it was tough to not look back while walking off the floor.
“I almost cried, it was really tough,” Boya said. “I’m gonna be the first graduate in my family.”
“It’s been a great four years,” Henry said. “The fans chanting my name while I was walking off, that was – like Boya said, I got emotional. I tried to keep it together, though.”
