Their eyes were puffy, heads hung towards the floor and voices cracked mid-sentence.
Answers to questions were short.
The players, Bradley point guard Jaquan Johnson, and wings AJ Smith and Timoty van der Knaap, couldn’t find the words to describe what they felt after the Braves’ 73-69 loss to Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) tournament semifinals.
The room was filled with despair and disappointment as reality set in.
The season was over, careers were over and the offseason was approaching quicker than anyone was ready for.
The Seniors — Smith, Ahmet Jonovic, Corey Thomas and Alex Huibregtse — last opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament would have to remain a dream, with Bradley’s last appearance becoming a distant memory.
Head coach Brian Wardle started the presser with an apology to his seniors.
“The emotions are high,” Wardle said after the game. “There are a lot of tears. I apologized to my seniors for not getting them into the tournament. They came here to get an opportunity to go to the NCAA tournament, and we fell short. I hope we can continue to play with this team, because we keep getting better. These guys are enjoying it right now, and so I hope we might have another opportunity for that. But it’s a tough loss.”
“They’re all hard when you’re in the Arch Madness, and you don’t win it, and this is a hard one on all of us.”
Things seemed to be harder for the Braves than a typical season-ending loss because they were right there.
They could taste the spoils of victory.
Bradley beatdown, then Braves rally
After trailing by 18 with 4:12 remaining in the first half and by 13 at halftime, the Braves increased their physicality on both ends of the court, attacking the rim relentlessly on offense and playing defense as if their lives depended on it.
That desperation led to a 13-4 run that cut the deficit to six with 14:19 to play, then to five with 11 minutes to play.
Bradley came out of the break with a newfound energy, with van der Knaap leading the way. He scored four points and four rebounds in the midst of the run, highlighted by a putback slam that set Enterprise Arena on fire.
“Coach Wardle asked me to respond, and I did,” van der Knaap said.
But every time the Braves made a big play, it seemed as if the Panthers pounced back.
Within a minute of Demarion Burch bringing the deficit to its closest since the 10:06 mark of the first half, Northern Iowa had re-established a double-digit lead.
Huibregtse knocked down a three to bring it back to seven points with 9:19 to play, but Panthers forward Leon Bond III responded the next possession, pushing it back to 10.
The Braves chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to six with 4:33 to play. Eight seconds later, Northern Iowa guard RJ Taylor found himself wide open in the corner and knocked down a three to push the lead to nine at the final media timeout.
Bradley had their chances to bring the game within one possession. Yet, they could never get the shot to fall.
“I’m proud of the team, proud of our second half,” Wardle said. “We came out and brought the fight. I told them that I could have had them more ready to play at the intensity level we need in that first half, especially defensively. Because UNI was clicking on all cylinders. We let them get going, and then they started making a lot of tough shots.”
“But then we challenged each other,” Wardle continued with a hint of pride in his voice.
“They challenged each other at halftime, too, and I thought we really had good momentum throughout the second half. We just couldn’t make the big shots in the big moments.”
As the game reached the point where the Braves were forced to foul, they made one last charge.
Johnson laid a ball in to cut the deficit to six with 26 seconds to play, and a Panthers turnover resulted in a three from freshman guard Montana Wheeler with 9.2 seconds showing on the clock.
With one last sliver of hope, Bradley needed Bond to miss both his free throws.
He missed the first attempt, thanks to the roar of hundreds of Braves faithful inside the stadium.
However, he sank the second free throw, along with Bradley’s chances at finishing off what would’ve been one of the most impressive rallies in Arch Madness history.
“They can lay their head on the pillow when it comes to their fight, their effort, their energy and especially how we turned the tide in the second half. We had great runs and had some momentum at many times,” Wardle said. “We just couldn’t cut it to a two or one-possession game ever.
“We just couldn’t get it there.”
What’s next?
Now, Bradley’s focus turns to the offseason. They’ll have a second to wipe their tears, reflect on the season and possibly play in another postseason tournament.
But then next year’s roster becomes paramount.
The Braves are losing four seniors who have played over 9,000 combined minutes at the collegiate level.
Along with additions in the portal, Wardle will focus on bringing back some of the young talent that helped Bradley finish second in the Valley.
“We’ve got to replace a lot, and we’re losing four seniors who bring a lot to the program every day, on and off the court,” Wardle remarked. “So that’s going to be, obviously, a big focus on the type of character, the type of person we bring into our locker room, but the number one thing is retaining our guys.”
“I hope, even without playing time, they had a great experience and they learned and grew,” Wardle said earnestly. “Because if you’ve seen our program, you’re going to get better, and your role is going to get bigger if you put the work in. We’ll have player meetings here soon and go over the year. We’ll think about how we can keep our group coming back, especially our young guys, and form the best team.”
Wardle, as he always has, will focus not only on talent but also on character, as he looks to maintain a culture in an era when it’s hard to do so.
“Again, it’s not putting together the best talent, it’s putting together the best team that fits your city, your university and your locker room, and we’ll always continue to do that,” Wardle continued.
Johnson, the MVC’s Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and First Team All-Conference selection, will garner the most speculation about his future as he’s sure to attract the most interest from high-major universities.
When Wardle mentioned the top priority was retaining players, though, Johnson gave a slight nod.
When asked to reflect on his season and what it meant for his future, “Bully”, as his teammates and coaches affectionately call him, gave credit to Coach Wardle and the Braves program.
“Honestly, coming into this season, if you had told me that I was going to be defensive player of the year and have this role on the team, I wouldn’t have believed you, honestly,” Johnson said. “But, I give a lot of props to the program. They put a lot of faith in their players. I mean, Coach Wardle trusted me, gave me the confidence to do what I do.”
This offseason, Wardle will have to instill that same confidence and trust into other recruits, retain and reload, all in an effort to reach their ultimate goal.
An NCAA tournament appearance.
