How Bradley turned from hunter to prey in loss to shorthanded Indiana State

Dave Eminian, Journal Star

January 2, 2022 at 5:10 PM·4 min read

Bradley forward Malevy Leons battles for position against Kailex Stephens in a 76-71 loss to Indiana State at Hulman Center on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022.

Bradley came off a 10-day COVID pause hunting for a big game Sunday as Missouri Valley Conference play resumed at Indiana State.

Instead, the hunter became the prey as the Sycamores, with three starters out from COVID, played three guys 40 minutes each, invested just 9 minutes in their bench and escaped with a 76-71 comeback victory over Bradley before 2,806 at Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Ind.

"A wounded animal is scary, it's the most dangerous," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. "That's what Indiana State was today. They fought us and came after us, and when you let a team get going like that, it's trouble."

Live updates: Bradley basketball vs. Indiana State recap

Indiana State made 15 3s on 35 attempts, while Bradley was 9-of-28 from long range.

"They wanted to draw us into a shooting contest, that was their plan, and they executed it well," Wardle said. "We gave our guys a good game plan. We had only one practice for this game, but we thought we were ready to go.

"But we just didn't execute it. You can't go on the road and win while giving up 3s and free throws. It doesn't work."

Bradley's Connor Hickman drives to the basket during an NCAA college basketball game against Indiana State Sunday, Jan, 2, 2022 in Terre Haute, Ind. (Joseph C. Garza/The Tribune-Star via AP)

More: When this freshman guard got better, so did Bradley basketball

BOX SCORE: Indiana State 76, Bradley 71

Bradley (7-7, 1-1) was without senior forward Ja'Shon Henry, who missed his third straight game with a head injury. There is no timetable for his return.

The Braves had positive tests in their Tier-I personnel and canceled their game during the week against Bellarmine.

Indiana State (7-7, 1-1) was hit with COVID and lost starting guards Xavier Bledson and Cameron Henry and center Simon Wilbar.

Henry and Bledson are two of the team's top three scorers, and Henry is also the team's leading rebounder.

They went with a four-guard lineup, which Bradley had to adjust for at game-time as COVID made the opponent's player personnel a guessing game.

Sycamores guards Zach Hobbs (four 3s), Micah Thomas (four 3s) and Connor Neese (five 3s) punished Bradley from long distance.

Neese finished with 19 points, while Thomas had 18. Bradley got 19 points from Terry Roberts and 12 rebounds from Malevy Leons.

Bradley guard Mikey Howell drives against Cooper Neese during the Braves' 76-71 loss to Indiana State at Hulman Center on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022.

"We worked on guarding Neese and Thomas, it was in our plan," Wardle said. "Our highs are so high, and our lows are low. We really have to keep working toward consistency."

Bradley took off in the first half, punishing Indiana State inside with layups from Zek Montgomery and Mikey Howell and an alley-oop jam from Ari Boya to build a 32-21 lead with an 18-7 push to the 7:31 mark.

Indiana State missed eight straight shots over a span of four minutes within that BU run.

But the Braves went cold with four turnovers in three minutes after that and the Sycamores delivered a 9-point run to get back in the game.

More: Bradley men's basketball has positive COVID tests; Bellarmine game canceled

Bradley finished the final 7:30 of the half with 2-of-8 shooting and five turnovers. Indiana State got a pull-up jumper from Thomas with 1 second left in the half to take a 43-41 lead to the break.

Again Bradley charged back, opening the second half with a pair of layups from Leons and one from Connor Hickman in the first 2:05 to jump ahead, 47-43.

But Indiana State went on a 15-3 push over the next 5:47 to build a 58-50 lead while the Braves shot 1-of-12 from the field and 0-of-7 from 3-point range.

Bradley countered with a 12-point run on 3s from Hickman and Leons to race into a 62-58 lead.

Bradley guard Zek Montgomery handles the ball during the Braves' 76-71 loss to Indiana State at Hulman Center on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022.

But Indiana State rallied again, surging to the lead on a 3 from Neese, a BU turnover, and then a layup by Julian Larry for 64-62 with 4:40 left.

Leons' layup cut the BU deficit it to 71-68 with 41.9 seconds left.

But Neese delivered the dagger when he hit a contested 3 as the shot clock expired for 74-68 with 12 seconds left.

The Braves got a corner 3 from Jayson Kent with 4.5 seconds left to pull within 74-71, but Indiana State iced it with free throws.

"The buy-in just wasn't there for our guys today," Wardle said. "Basketball will always humble you."

Bravely Speaking

The 15 3-pointers by Indiana State were the most allowed in a game by Bradley this season. ... Forward Malevy Leons had 11 points and 12 rebounds to become the fourth Bradley player with a double-double this season. ... Bradley shot 40.8% from the field, and now is 1-7 on the season when shooting under 44%. ... Bradley returns to Carver Arena to host Missouri State at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

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 basketball: Analysis of Bradley MVC loss at Indiana State

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