Bradley men’s basketball ended their week with a 76-60 win against Northern Illinois on Saturday night.
In the Braves’ (3-1) win on Tuesday night against UTSA, they totaled 15 assists as a team. Bradley recorded 14 versus NIU (2-2), with senior guard Duke Deen leading the team with five.
“I told [Zek] and CD [Connor Dillon] at the half, I do not need them to pass,” Deen said. “I’ll do that … I wish I had some more [assists].”
Not only is Deen a leader of the team, but he’s also the leader of the offense as the point guard. His priority isn’t scoring; rather, he focuses on helping his teammates get to the right places. Deen was constantly working the pick-and-roll with junior center Ahmet Jonovic.
“I’ve been trying to get him to do that for a while,” Deen said. “He really picked it up in the spring and the summer, and I knew he was gonna be great this year.”
Jonovic played 20 minutes off the bench and was a key contributor on offense and defense. He had a season-best 12 points on four-of-five shooting and seven rebounds.
“I just try to help my teammates, especially the seniors now, and not make mistakes,” Jonovic said.
“Guys made an effort to find the big fella, and I thought it worked out well for us,” head coach Brian Wardle said. “And he [name] kept the ball high, strong, got fouled and finished. So he’s getting better and he’s just gotta keep playing on his toes and being alert.”
The Braves have used balanced scoring this season to build one of the most dynamic offenses in the Valley. Deen finished with 16 points, senior forward Darius Hannah finished with 15 and senior guard Zek Montgomery added 13. It was a tight battle for most of the first half until Bradley closed out on a 7-0 run in the final 2:33 and went into the break leading by 10.
First halves haven’t been an issue for the Braves this season through the first four games; it’s been starting the second halves. This game featured the same trend as NIU trimmed Bradley’s 18-point lead down to six, but fortunately for the Braves, they separated themselves in the final 10 minutes.
“I think it’s coming out with a defensive mindset,” Montgomery said. “I know second halves [we’ve] been starting slow on defense. That was one of the main focuses that we had coming into the second half and starting better than we usually do.”
The Braves’ defense was much better in the second half as the Huskies shot 32 percent from the field and made just one of their 12 three-point attempts. Overall, NIU was five-for-23 behind the arch. Sophomore guard Quentin Jones was the best player for NIU, scoring 19 points from various spots on the floor.
“I thought we made some good adjustments at halftime, and the guys executed them and talked it out,” Wardle said. “We opened the game up at the end of the first half, kind of opened the game up again the last 10 minutes in the second half. So just give Northern Illinois credit.”
Bradley has been well-documented in their ability to shoot three-pointers and averaged 24.3 attempts per game coming into this game. The Braves only shot five in the first half and finished the contest seven-for-14. Deen, Montgomery and sophomore forward Almar Atlason finished with two made three-pointers.
The Braves still found success near the basket and at the free-throw line. Bradley shot 58 percent from the field as a team and converted on 19-of-24 free throws.
While Bradley performed well shooting the ball, they did not take good care of their possessions. The Braves finished with 16 turnovers and now average 15 per game through four games. NIU capitalized on the mistakes and scored 25 points off Bradley’s turnovers.
“Offensively, super efficient in every area. Just got to take care of the ball,” Wardle said. “It’s still the thing with our team, especially our forwards, they got to start cutting back on some turnovers.”
NIU played hard and challenged Bradley. Wardle was pleased by how his guys handled the pressure at different points in the game.
“We never lost our cool, we stayed composed,” Wardle said. “We just have to keep working, we have a lot to get better at and hopefully we can keep putting that effort forth in practice because we’ve been practicing better lately.”
The Braves will now prepare for the Myrtle Beach Invitational this week in South Carolina. Participating teams are Middle Tennessee, Ohio, South Florida, Portland, Princeton, and Wright State. Bradley faces Texas State at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
