Bradley walked out of halftime up ten against Central Michigan – firmly in control of its first home game of the season.
On the first possession after the break, the Chippewas threw the ball to center Nathan Claerbaut, who got deep post position on senior Ahmet Jonovic, used a flurry of fakes, then dropped in a hook shot to cut the deficit to eight.
Senior forward AJ Smith responded with a layup, but on the ensuing possession, Central Michigan went right back to Claerbaut in the post.
He took one dribble, drove right and flicked in another hook shot over Jonovic to once again cut the deficit to eight.
On the next Braves possession, Claerbaut blocked Jonovic’s shot, leading to a transition layup.
The lead was now six, and head coach Brian Wardle had seen enough.
He subbed Jonovic out and called a timeout to stop the bleeding and regain momentum.
“They went on, I think, a 6-0 run right away,” Wardle said. “So, I just burned a timeout to challenge a couple of guys.”
Junior guard Jaquan Johnson was not among the players who were challenged; to that point, he had eight points on 3-for-5 shooting.
But Johnson took the challenge anyway.
“I felt like I had to take it up a notch, even higher than what I was doing,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to be more aggressive, because obviously they have the momentum. You’ve got to try to get your momentum going – get your run going.”
After the timeout, Johnson found the Civic Center’s thermostat and cranked it up 25 degrees.
On the Braves’ next possession, he knocked down a three to extend the lead to nine. Then, he forced his way to the rim for a tough layup.
Bradley got another stop on defense and got the ball to Johnson in transition. He drove to the rim, crossed his defender over and then finished one of his patented and-1’s to cap off a personal 7-0 run and push the lead to 13.
“He got hot, and his teammates found him,” Wardle said about Johnson’s performance. “It was fun to see.”
From that point on, Johnson and the Braves never looked back. He scored 25 points in the second half to bring his total to 33, a new career high, as Bradley defeated Central Michigan 85-54.
It was a statement win for a team fresh off a tough loss to St. Bonaventure in its season opener, and the Braves did it without one of their best players.
A new lineup
Junior guard Demarion Burch missed the contest with a calf injury. The Athletics Department announced he is day-to-day. In light of the injury, Wardle was able to test a new lineup with both Ahmet Jonovic and Corey Thomas on the court.
It’s safe to say it’ll be sticking around.
“What I like about it: Corey’s a good passer and can shoot,” Wardle said about the double big lineup. “Defensively, our length, our protecting of the rim, our size, our physicality – it’s hard to score on those guys consistently throughout a game. You might make a few, but you’re probably going to shoot a low percentage eventually. I think it’s something we can build off even when Burch comes back.”
Bradley held the Chippewas to a 36.4 field goal percentage and forced 15 turnovers. According to College Basketball Analytics, the Braves outscored Central Michigan by 82 points per 100 possessions. In 13 minutes, the double big lineups had an offensive rating of 134.3, a defensive rating of 51.7 (both 99th percentile) and had a defensive rebounding percentage of 73.3.
Senior forward AJ Smith was a major benefactor of the lineup. He began the season at power forward, but against the Chippewas, he moved back to his more natural position of small forward.
Smith was allowed to play on the perimeter more on both ends of the ball – and he wreaked havoc.
He scored 18 points, grabbed six rebounds and registered four steals and two blocks.
“I want to try and contribute in every category, because I know that contributes to winning, especially on the defensive end,” Smith said. “Coach has really challenged me to guard some of the best guys. I think number five was at the top of our scout, and he had four points. That was my matchup for the game, and I really took pride in that.”
“I’m a JYD – we call it junkyard dog,” Smith finished.
The game was Smith’s first at Carver Arena, but he’s already become accustomed to the Bradley faithful.
“It was great, honestly,” Smith said. “I mean, the fans here – we had 5800. I hope we can get to more. I think you guys set the record last year at 10,000, so I’m really excited. I want to get into 10,000 every game. Playing in front of that crowd, it’s always great. It’s like having a sixth man out there.”
The Braves will need the energy from fans again Wednesday night, when they return home to play U.T. Martin at 7 p.m.
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