Bradley men’s basketball (23-7, 14-5 MVC) used a dominant second-half performance to capture a 76-65 road victory on Wednesday night at Valparaiso (13-17, 6-13 MVC).
Both teams played a sloppy offense in the first half, as neither shot above 45% from the field. At halftime, the Beacons led 29-28 after their 7-2 scoring run in the final four minutes of the half.
“Every time we go into the locker room, we just be real with each other,” senior guard Duke Deen said. “We know what we got to do better, and then we just try to come out in the second half and do that.”
The Braves followed suit and found a way to win, which they have done multiple times this year.
Night and day difference
Bradley has been one of the best three-point shooting teams all season, and they entered Athletics-Recreation Center as the top team in that statistic with a 41.1% average.
However, the Braves were ice-cold from the three-point line for the first 23 minutes of the contest, missing their first eight attempts.
“I thought we turned down some good threes in the first half and took tough ones,” head coach Brian Wardle said. “We talked about [shot selection] at halftime and not turning down catch-and-shoot threes.”
The first three-point shot came from Deen, and the dominoes started to fall as the Braves made six consecutive. Five came from the senior point guard, who only played 10 minutes of the first half due to foul trouble.
“He was fresh,” Wardle said about Deen’s status entering the second half. “I said, ‘I don’t think I’m taking you out all half; be in attack mode.’ He got into attack mode in transition, and he can change a game. We all know that.”
“[Coach] Foster told me to get them [three-point shots] up,” Deen added. “That’s what I did, just get them up and try to carry this team, do what we do best and that’s shoot threes. Once one person sees one or two fall, we all are going to start hitting some.”
The pull-up three has been Deen’s patented shot for his entire career. It sparked the 16-point comeback against Murray State and separated the Braves in this game against Valparaiso.
“He’s as elite as they get,” Wardle said about his star point guard. “Duke’s kind of a unicorn. There are not many players like him that can do what he does at his size, and he’s unique. I’m just happy he’s wearing that Bradley jersey every game.”
Deen scored 19 points, all in the second half, and grabbed six rebounds. He shot seven-for-10 from the field and five-for-eight from behind the arc.
Darius’ domination
Senior forward Darius Hannah has been the most productive player for the Braves over the last six games. He provided another consistent performance against the Beacons with a season-high 22 points on eight-for-11 field goals.
“I knew I was going to have most likely a little guy on me every time I set a screen,” Hannah said on the offensive advantage he had. “I want to thank my teammates, though, for getting me the ball. Just taking advantage of that [the] best way I could.”
“When I get the ball in my hand, it’s [to] score, honestly,” Hannah added. “If I find an open man, then I find the open man, but it’s always get a bucket first. That’s just the mindset, especially as a senior with time trickling down, be [as] aggressive as I can for my team.”
Deen knows that, as a passer, he can get free assists when he’s dishing the ball down low to Hannah.
“It’s a bucket down there when he goes to work,” Deen said. “He just makes a quick move. When he uses [his] ability, [he] uses the work that he puts in every morning. I see him in the gym every morning [and] night, so I got the utmost faith in him to go get a bucket.”
It wasn’t only the points scored by Darius that had a huge impact on this game; his rebounding led the Braves to dominate the glass against the Beacons. Bradley had 39 rebounds compared to Valparaiso’s 27, and Hannah finished with nine for the Braves.
“I thought our paint toughness was good,” Wardle said. “I thought winning the rebounding war against them was good because they beat us pretty handily in the first game. Just being a little more consistent with our focus and intensity is all I’m asking [from] them on the defensive end.”
Hannah’s play highlights a common theme that Wardle has seen in his 10 years at the helm of the program.
“He’s got that senior sense of urgency right now,” Wardle said. “I saw it with Donte Thomas back in the day, Darrell Brown, Elijah Childs, Nate Kennell, DLO [Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye], Ja’Shon Henry, Malevy [Leons]. You see that in your seniors when they get that look and that effort. And he’s laying it on the line right now in practice and in games.”
One more
Thirty regular season games in the books. There’s one more left to be decided.
Bradley has its senior day on Sunday at Carver Arena for the regular season finale against Northern Iowa. The Braves lost to the Panthers 83-69 in Cedar Falls on Feb. 2.
This game features more than just Bradley’s seniors potentially playing their final game at Carver. The winner clinches the No. 2 seed for Arch Madness in St. Louis and will play in the 6 p.m. time slot on March 7. The loser will receive the No. 3 seed and play in the late 8:30 p.m. time slot on that Friday.
“I just want us to go out and play well on Sunday,” Wardle said. “We got to have some good days of prep, we have to put together some good practices and go out and play physically and tough on Sunday. That’s all I care about, and the rest takes care of itself.”
