Illinois State students inside CEFCU Arena in Normal planned to throw confetti when the Redbirds made their first field goal against the Bradley Braves on Wednesday night.
After 10 minutes of game time and two failed attempts, they finally did, but it was the most celebration they’d have as the Braves took down ISU 79-61 to win their fifth game in a row.
Unlike the two teams’ previous meeting, the Braves dominated the Redbirds in the first 20 minutes and in doing so, were able to hang on in the second half to sweep the War on I-74 for the first time since 2020.
“We knew from the last game that they’re pretty scary if they get going,” Bradley junior forward Rienk Mast said. “So we were really intent on starting off strong and just kind of getting out on the lead and then maintaining from there.”
Mast and his Dutch counterpart, senior forward Malevy Leons, wreaked major damage in the paint of Doug Collins Court all night. However, it was their initial scoring blows and additional rebounding punches that helped give Bradley a 9-0 lead on the scoreboard and a 7-0 advantage in rebounds right out of the gate.
“I just started off with urgency, I knew it was going to be a big game,” Leons said. “It was a must win for us and I just want to give it all out from the gate straight away.”
A 3-pointer from sophomore guard Zek Montgomery put the Braves up 15-2 before Illinois State made its first shot from the field on a Darius Burford layup about nine and a half minutes into the game. Bradley forced the Redbirds to miss their first eight shots from the field.
“Their defense in the first 10 minutes was as good of a halfcourt defense as we’ve gone against this year,” Illinois State head coach Ryan Pedon said. “I thought we allowed some of our missed layups, missed shots, frustration at the offensive end affect us on the defensive end and you can’t do that against anybody but against really good teams especially.”
“I thought our defense really ignited us in that first half because we went through a little lull for about two or three minutes offensively and we kept guarding and we kept that lead,” Wardle said.
Here and there
The signs that it was just Bradley’s night came early and often.
Junior point guard Duke Deen launched a deep ball over the outstretched arm of ISU’s Ryan Schmitt – nearly a foot taller than Deen – to give the Braves a 24-13 lead with 6:10 to play in the first half. Bradley’s previous four makes from the field were all from 3-point land as well, including a pair from Mast, who led the team with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
The Braves’ offense wasn’t one dimensional though. In the span of less than a minute, Leons converted two 3-point plays down low for a personal 6-0 run to put Bradley up 30-13 with 4:53 left in the initial frame. After scoring a team-high 16 in the first I-74 rivalry clash this season, Leons again led the Braves with 21 points and his efforts helped Bradley to a 51 percent to 40 percent advantage in shooting from the field.
“[Leons] was a problem off the dribble today,” Wardle said. “I thought he really attacked closeouts better because he’s shooting the three so well.”
“I got some size on them when I play the small forward and my defender is, like, six-foot-four,” Leons said. “I’m like ‘Oh, I’ve got a lot of length on him and it’ll be easier to score over him.’”
Humming along at a crucial point in the season, Bradley’s multi-faceted attack, which included converting 12 Redbird turnovers into 21 Braves points, has proved to be lethal.
“That’s the beauty of our team right now is we’re confident from the 3-point line and playing from there or going inside and playing inside out,” Wardle said.
Boards + Bench
Bradley’s first encounter with Illinois State was a much closer affair with the Braves eking out a 79-75 win in overtime at Carver Arena on Jan. 25. In an extremely uncharacteristic effort, the Braves were outrebounded 44-25.
Not the case on Wednesday though, as they flipped the script and controlled the glass to the tune of a 41-26 rebounding advantage.
“We do a lot of blocking out in practice, trust me,” Wardle said. “I mean, there’s coaches that say ‘Why do block out drills?’ Well, I do them every day. We had two days of practice with a lot of that toughness mentality of blocking out and chasing down those balls because we knew that would be big.”
“Well, the rebound drills were plenty in practice,” Mast laughed. “Yeah, [Wardle] had us ready for the rebounds more for sure.”
In the eyes of Illinois State guard Malachi Poindexter, Bradley didn’t run any exotic plays or defensive sets that he and the Redbirds didn’t see the first time around. But execution issues, including six missed layups, and less of an effort in rebounding plagued the ‘Birds.
“I don’t think [Bradley’s] defense was any different,” Poindexter said. “I just think us taking care of the ball was the main difference between the first game and the second one.”
Perhaps the biggest difference in the two Bradley-ISU contests this season was the play of Bradley senior guard Ville Tahvanainen, who broke out of a shooting slump with a 13-point performance off the bench.
Senior forward Ja’Shon Henry, playing in potentially his last game against ISU, added eight points to go with junior forward Darius Hannah’s six off the bench, which included a stylish windmill dunk that put an exclamation point on the win in garbage time.
“Obviously, [Malevy Leons] and Rienk [Mast] do what [Malevy] and Rienk do, but it was the bench that was huge for us today,” Wardle said.
Hungry for more
After leading at the half 41-21, the Braves stayed further away from the 3-point arc in the second half, electing to pound the smaller Redbirds forwards down low. An improved offensive attack for Illinois State allowed it to match the Braves in the second half, but a basket through contact for Henry and a crazy turnaround from Tahvanainen put BU up 57-32 – their largest lead of the game – with 13:53 to go.
After blowing a 20-point lead and losing 74-65 in the former Redbird Arena last season, Leons and the Braves learned from their mistakes to prevent any harrowing flashbacks. Was their lead ever comfortable on Wednesday?
“Not against this team,” Leons said. “Like you know they can get hurt in a minute and just never always got to stay on your toes.”
Illinois State chipped away and narrowly ended up outsourcing the Braves 40-38 in the second half, however they could get no closer than 14 points. Poindexter led the Redbirds with 15 points as they lost their sixth contest in their last eight games.
Despite the road victory – the Braves fourth in a row –, the Braves aren’t in the mood to be comfortable with the defensive effort in the closing minutes.
“We know we got to stay aggressive,” Mast said. “We’ve given up some of these throughout this season so far. So we know that can be a downfall for us if we relax. We were really focused on staying disciplined.”
“I’m pushing our team to put a 40 minute game together,” Wardle said. “I know basketball is a game of mistakes but I thought we made too many in the second half in this game and we got to continue to clean that up as we move down the stretch.”
Two and a half weeks ago, the Braves had lost two out of their last three, including four straight losses away from Carver Arena. Now winners of four straight road games and five in a row overall, the Braves again added more fuel to the engine that hopes to keep them chugging towards their first Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship in 27 years.
“Confidence…I’d say we’re more together,” Mast said about the Braves’ midseason turnaround. “We know what everybody can do on the road. We know what we need to do on the road and everybody knows that if they show up and just do their thing, that we’ll be in the game and have a shot at winning it.”
Bradley heads into its Saturday home game against Murray State in a tie for first place in the MVC with Drake and Southern Illinois. The Racers’ first trip to Carver Arena as members of the MVC will tip off at 1 p.m.
