Dramatic finish lifts Bradley basketball past Northern Iowa in Valley opener

Dave Eminian, Journal Star

December 2, 2021 at 4:29 PM·5 min read

PEORIA — Bradley put the game in Terry Roberts' hands, and he made sure victory remained in their grasp Wednesday in the Missouri Valley Conference opener against Northern Iowa.

Roberts took the ball on the Bradley logo near center court, paused, then barged down the lane to the rim, turning two defenders inside out for a game-winning layup with 4.5 seconds left in a 71-69 victory before 3,551 at Carver Arena.

"What was the play?" Roberts said, repeating a question. "The play was 'Give me the ball and make a decision.' I knew I could get around the defender and make a play.

"That's what I did."

Here's Terry Roberts winner in the final seconds. pic.twitter.com/m1YhmtA9eL
— Dave Eminian (@icetimecleve) December 2, 2021

The Braves held on for a last-second 3-point heave from Northern Iowa's magnificent guard, AJ Green. It was no good, and just like that BU was over 81-65, over 76-64, over 78-70, all artifacts of a rough nonconference season that left them feeling like they had much to prove.

"It's nice to be 1-0 in the Valley," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. "Our guys really deserved that."

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BOS SCORE: Bradley 71, Northern Iowa 69

Green hit a turnaround jumper with 12 seconds left for his 30th points and a 69-69 tie.

"Green is just a ton, the shots he can make, not many guys in the NCAA can make those," Wardle said. "We had saved a timeout, we knew it was going to be close. We wanted Terry in iso at the top, let him go one-on-one. It worked out well."

Roberts, soft-spoken in the aftermath, after the Braves celebrated on the floor, reflected on what has been a difficult week for him.

"I've been going through a rough patch with some things back home," Roberts said. "The guys around me here, they have lifted me up."

Roberts paid them back Wednesday with a big-time play that knocked off a Northern Iowa team which, on Saturday, took out No. 16 St. Bonaventure.

Bradley's Terry Roberts dribbles the ball during the Missouri Valley Conference opener against the University of Northern Iowa at Carver Arena on Dec. 1, 2021. Roberts scored with a layup during the final four seconds of the game, beating the Panthers 71-69.

Green came out firing, pouring in 11 of UNI's first 15 points in the opening seven minutes, mostly while Bradley defended him with senior forward Ja'Shon Henry.

The Braves switched Roberts onto Green and took off on a 31-15 run to halftime for a 39-28 lead.

"Green is a very physical guard, and Ja'Shon did a great job on him, so did Terry," Wardle said. "We had to be careful with Terry on him, because Green is really good at drawing fouls and we didn't want our point guard (in foul trouble)."

BU doubled Green in stretches during the second half, and opened a 60-54 lead with 8:03 left when Ville Tahvanainen, Mikey Howell and Connor Hickman hit a trio of 3s.

"Give Bradley a lot of credit for the way they played the first half," UNI coach Ben Jacobson said. "They out-played us. They had a cushion. It took some work to get that back to a two-possession game, then eventually a one-possession game.

"About the middle of the second half they hit three straight 3s. The three straight 3s was big. They didn't score a lot of points in the second half, but that 9 points in three possessions was a really key point in the second half."

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UNI rallied to a 51-51 tie with 11:32 left when Nate Heise hit a corner 3.

Tahvanainen answered with a 3 from the right wing off a timeout for 54-51.

UNI turned over the ball, and BU cashed in with a 3 out of the left corner from Howell for 57-51.

They kept trading shots, as Northern Iowa got 3s from Noah Carter and Bowen Born, and BU got a 3 from Hickman in between for a 60-57 lead with 7:46 left.

Hickman answered a Carter dunk with another 3 out of the right corner for 65-59 with 5:30 left.

Roberts, defending Green one-on-one, forced a miss, then headed to the other end and hit a 12-foot jumper for 69-64 lead 1:57 left.

Green answered with a contested 3, and it was 69-67 Bradley with 1:48 left. Green then tied it, and Roberts followed with the winner.

"We had Colorado State on the ropes at the (Virgin Islands) tournament," Wardle said. "We lost a little confidence in the Virgin Islands, but I knew we'd come to play today.

"Win or lose, you learn. We'll learn a lot from this game."

They said it

Bradley guard Ville Tahvanainen, who was 4 of 8 from 3: "I just let it fly.
Tahvanainen, on fellow guard Terry Roberts: "I'm used to seeing him play like that in practice. I'm proud of him, what he did tonight."
Bradley coach Brian Wardle: "Terry Roberts was in attack mode."

By the numbers

Bradley guard Terry Roberts had 20 points on 9 of 18 shooting, with 3 assists and a steal.
Ville Tahvanainen had 14 points and was 4 of 8 from 3.
Rienk Mast grabbed 11 rebounds.
Freshman guard Connor Hickman had 12 points, including a pair of 3s.
Northern Iowa's AJ Green finished with 30 points on 11 of 18 shooting (5 of 9 from 3).
Noah Carter had 20 points.
The Braves out-rebounded UNI 38-29.
Bradley shot 45.8% from the field and 34.6% from 3 (9 of 26).
UNI shot 44.6% from the field and 38.5% from 3 (10 of 26).

Bravely Speaking

Bradley improved to 3-5. Northern Iowa slipped to 2-4. ... Bradley is 38-32 all-time in Missouri Valley Conference openers and 3-4 under coach Brian Wardle. ... The Braves are 28-9 when playing their Valley opener in Peoria. ... Bradley is 3-7 all-time in Valley openers against UNI. ... The Braves host SIU-Edwardsville at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Carver Arena.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley mens basketball: BU vs. Northern Iowa in MVC opener in Peoria

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