Bradley men’s basketball knocked off MVC-leading Loyola-Chicago 68-61 on Wednesday night at Carver Arena, exacting revenge for the team’s blown lead and overtime loss in Rogers Park in January.
The biggest difference between the two games? Not Braves’ leading scorer Terry Roberts. Not redshirt sophomore paint presence Rienk Mast.
“Zek Montgomery,” Ramblers head coach Drew Valentine said. “He stepped up and knocked down shots with no hesitation and made us pay for not doing a good enough job as a staff preparing him as a player.”
Montgomery, a freshman guard who averaged just under three points per game entering the contest, stepped up to contribute 12 points in just over 10 minutes – a career high scoring output.
“Coach always told me to be ready, to step up in the moment,” Montgomery said with a smile. “So that’s what I did.”
The Louisville, Kentucky native’s second half buckets came at a pivotal point in the contest.
After Bradley led at the half 32-30, Loyola started the second half hot, trading punches with Bradley to tie the game twice and take the lead three times in the first five minutes of the frame.
A layup from redshirt junior guard Braden Norris put LUC ahead 39-38 with 15:38 remaining. The response? A 3-pointer from Montgomery to put Bradley back in front.
Norris countered with his own triple on the other end of the floor to put the Ramblers ahead once more.
On the Braves’ end, graduate guard Mikey Howell connected on an and-one layup, which was followed by a free throw miss, an offensive rebound from Mast and a turnaround mid-range jumper from Montgomery – a sequence that started a 9-0 run that put Bradley in the catbird’s seat for good.
Loyola didn’t go down without a fight, using a 7-2 stretch to cut the deficit back down to 57-56 with 5:30 remaining in the game.
As opposed to Jan. 8’s contest, Bradley didn’t falter and used efforts from Roberts and junior Malevy Leons to slam the door.
After two made free throws from sophomore Darius Hannah, Leons hit a turnaround jumper to push the lead back to four with 3:24 remaining. About two minutes later, Roberts charged downhill and connected a running shot to push the lead to 63-57.
After a defensive stop, Roberts fed Leons on the baseline, who finished a layup through a foul for the dagger, sending the Carver Arena crowd of 4,450 into a frenzy.
Bradley’s final box score was balanced, as five Braves hit double-figures in the scoring column. Leons led with 14 points, followed by Montgomery and Howell, who both posted season highs with 12 off the bench. Junior guard Ville Tahvanainen’s 11 points helped BU’s bench outscore Loyola’s reserves 37-20.
“We’ve developed a culture of ‘next man up,’ and always being ready,” Wardle said. “We have a lot of good players sitting on the bench, I feel like, and a lot of guys who could be playing on some teams. It was good to see them seize the moment.”
Roberts finished with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists while playing with braces on both ankles due to a sprained left ankle he suffered in Bradley’s win over Evansville on Saturday.
According to Wardle, Roberts did not practice each of the last two days.
“[Nobody] expected T-Rob to play,” Wardle said. “Lotta heart from that young man. He got cleared from the doctors, the trainer, and he wanted to compete.”
Less apparent in the box score was the impact of Mast, who totaled just six points, but 14 rebounds – including seven on the offensive glass.
“His hustle, his effort, his toughness, his talk – Rienk’s a winner – and all those intangible things came out,” Wardle said.
The victory is Bradley’s sixth in its last seven games – propelling the squad to 14-11 overall and 8-5 in Valley play. With five regular season games left on the slate, the Braves are stationed in fifth place, just half a game behind Drake, who comes to Carver Arena on Saturday night.
For at least the next 24-hours, though, the Braves will enjoy the victory in their last ever conference contest against Loyola, which is departing for the Atlantic 10 at the end of the season.
“They’ve had recent success, so that probably excites the fans,” Wardle said. “They’re leaving our league, so that probably excites the fans, too.”
“It’s my first win against Loyola in three years here, so it’s big,” Tahvanainen said. “It was huge for us to get this win.”
