Bradley, now 2-0 against ranked teams this year, beat a ranked team at home for the first time since 1982, as the Braves rallied to defeat No. 18 UNI, 68-59. Illinois State handed Creighton just its second home loss of the year with a four-point win in Omaha, while Indiana State (76-66 against Drake) and Southern Illinois (80-64 against Evansville) had double-digit home wins.
Bradley 68, #18 UNI 59
PEORIA, Ill. - Bradley junior guard Andrew Warren (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) scored a game-high 15 points, all in the second half, and the Braves (13-12, 8-7 MVC) overwhelmed #18 Northern Iowa (22-3, 13-2 MVC) in the second half to earn their first-ever win against a nationally-ranked opponent at Carver Arena, 68-59, in Missouri Valley Conference action Saturday afternoon.
Bradley, which improved to 2-0 on the season against nationally-ranked opponents (the Braves beat then #20 Illinois, 72-68, Nov. 28 in Las Vegas), had not won a home game against a Top 25 team since dumping #8 Tulsa, 82-79 in overtime, Feb. 27, 1982 in the final regular-season home game at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse. The Braves are now 1-8 against the Top 25 at Carver Arena, where they have played their home games since the start of the 1982-83 season. Bradley, also improved to 2-0 all-time against nationally-ranked UNI squads, having dealt the then #25 Panthers a 71-49 defeat Feb. 22, 2006 in the final regular-season game at the UNI-Dome.
Bradley never led in the first half and forged the final tie of the opening stanza, 11-11, when sophomore forward Taylor Brown scored in the paint with 10:27 remaining. The Panthers began to pull away and three times built a nine-point advantage, the last when Adam Koch scored on the interior for the final points of the period to give UNI a 32-23 lead at intermission.
Bradley stormed back to start the second half, however, and scored the first 11 points of the period. Senior guard Chris Roberts opened the scoring with a fastbreak layup and Warren followed with a transition 3-pointer for his first points of the night. After Warren scored again, senior guard Sam Manisacalco, who did not score from the field in the first half, scored the next four points to give the Braves their first lead, 34-32, with 14:48 remaining.
Following some back-and-forth play, Bradley broke the game's sixth tie with a 9-1 run to take control. Brown drained two free throws with 8:15 left for a 48-46 Braves advantage and Roberts finished off the surge with an old-fashioned 3-point play with 4:53 left for a 55-47 lead.
The Panthers managed to close the gap to four points, 55-51, with 3:12 remaining, but Roberts answered with a tough turnaround jumper on the baseline with 2:46 remaining and the Braves made 9-of-10 free throw attempts to hold off the Panthers, who still could claim the outright Valley regular-season title if Missouri State upsets the league's current second-place team, Wichita State, Sunday night.
After shooting just 36.0 percent (9-25) from the field in the first half, Bradley converted 56.5 percent (13-23) of its field goal attempts in a 45-point, second-half outburst. The Braves also turned up the defensive pressure in the second half after allowing UNI to shoot 44.8 percent (13-29) in the opening period. The Panthers made only 5-of-26 (.192) field goal attempts in the second half to finish the game at 32.7 percent. UNI made just 6-of-30 (.200) tries from 3-point range. The Panthers also came into the game ranked 12th nationally by averaging only 10.9 turnovers per game, but the Braves forced their visitors into 16 miscues and took advantage with a 13-4 margin in points off turnovers.
Roberts complimented Warren's scoring effort with 13 points, while Brown and sophomore center Will Egolf each chipped in with 12 points. UNI senior guard Ali Farokhmanesh led three Panthers in double-figures with 14 points, while center Jordan Eglseder and guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe each added 12.
Illinois State 67, Creighton 63
OMAHA, Neb. – Thanks to five players in double-digit scoring, led by Dinma Odiakosa and Osiris Eldridge with 12 points apiece, the Illinois State men’s basketball team won its second-straight road game with a 67-63 win over Creighton at the Qwest Center Omaha Saturday afternoon. ISU held Creighton to one field goal in the final 8:57 to claim a 67-63 win before 16,209 fans at Qwest Center Omaha. The game featured 20 lead changes and there were nine ties.
The first half featured six ties and six lead changes before Osiris Eldridge drained a long three-pointer with less than a second left in the half. Kenny Lawson Jr. led CU with 11 points at the break, while Austin Hill had six points off the bench to pace the 'Birds.
Creighton took a 53-50 lead with 8:58 to play, but then went cold, making just one of its final seven attempts. ISU answered with the next six points to go ahead by three points, and extended it to a 12-2 run when Dinma Odiakosa scored inside with 3:47 to play. That gave ISU its largest lead of the day at 62-55 heaidng into the final media timeout.
Creighton rallied back, getting within one point on free throws by Justin Carter with both 1:02 left and again with 23.5 ticks left. The Jays would foul Eldridge with 21.8 to go and the preseason Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year missed the second try to leave the door open.
Creighton would push the ball upcourt and call its final timeout with 15.0 seconds left. The Jays would work the ball around a screen and get it to Kaleb Korver, who passed up an open three-pointer in favor of resetting the offense at the top of the key. Cavel Witter would feed Lawson inside, but Lawson was unable to handle the pass and it trickled out-of-bounds with 2.1 seconds left. Lloyd Phillips sank two foul shots with 1.4 seconds left to ice the victory.
Lawson led CU with 20 points while Carter had 14 points and nine rebounds for CU. Creighton shot 37.0 percent for the game and 5-of-20 (25.0 percent) from downtown. CU also made 24-of-28 free throws (a season-high 85.7 percent) and outrebounded the 'Birds 32-30.
ISU was led by 12 each from Odiakosa and Eldridge. Phillips had 11 points and reserves Austin Hill and Kellen Thornton each added 10 points. ISU shot 50.9 percent for the game (27-53), including 63.6 percent marksmanship (14-22) after intermission. ISU was 3-of-11 from downtown and 10-for-16 at the line.
Creighton returns to action on Tuesday at 7:05 pm with a game at No. 19 Northern Iowa. That game can be heard on KXSP (Big Sports 590 AM) and will be televised by FSN Midwest.
NOTES: Ethan Wragge made a three-pointer in his 13th straight game, the longest streak by a freshman in Bluejay history ...Creighton fell to 11-2 at home this season ...Creighton moved over the 200,000 mark in home attendance for the year for the fifth time. No other MVC school has ever done that even once.
Indiana State 76, Drake 66
TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Indiana State reeled off eight unanswered points midway through the second half to break a 49-49 tie en route to a 76-66 Missouri Valley Conference victory against Drake.
Drake made a season-high 15 three-point baskets including a career-tying five treys from freshman forward Ben Simons who finished with 15 points.
Senior guard Josh Young led Drake with 21 points, making eight of 10 shots - all in the second half - including four three-point baskets. He also dished out six assists.
Young set his second school record in a week by becoming Drake's career three-point basket leader with 243, bettering the previous mark of 241 by Klayton Korver (2003-08) and Luke McDonald (2001-03). Last Saturday Young set the Bulldog career scoring mark.
Senior forward Adam Templeton added 12 points, coming on four three-point baskets, while collecting nine rebounds.
Indiana State used a whopping advantage at the free throw line and a near flawless floor game to sweep the season series against Drake.
The Sycamores made 16 of 18 free throws compared to just five of seven by Drake. Indiana State also dished out 17 assists while committing a season-low three assists.
Simons broke out of a shooting slump that had seen him hit just 21.7 percent from three-point range in the last 16 games by making five of 10 three-point shots.
Simons hit two straight treys keying a 9-1 run early in the second half that allowed the Bulldogs to turn a 48-40 deficit into a 49-49 tie. But the Sycamores were able to build the lead up to 64-54 with guard Jordan Printy scoring five points.
Aaron Carter, who scored just four points in the previous meeting between the teams Jan. 3 in Des Moines, scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half, staking Indiana State to a 38-28 halftime lead.
Southern Illinois 80, Evansville 64
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Led by John Freeman and Kendal Brown-Surles, Southern Illinois received 36 points from its bench, and that helped dispose of Evansville, 80-64, Saturday afternoon. Freeman recorded a career-high 15 points to lead all scorers, and Brown-Surles added nine points, six assists and three steals for the Salukis (14-11, 6-9). SIU has won four of its last five at home.
After a stretch of seven games in January when he didn't score a single point, Freeman has been hot lately, scoring 31 points in the last five contests. Likewise, Brown-Surles provided a spark of the bench. With starting point guard Kevin Dillard in foul trouble, the freshman from Evansville played a career-high 26 minutes and was active on both ends of the floor.
"He has made tremendous strides of running our club, and he's doing a good job defending," Lowery said. "As he's gotten more playing time, he's become more comfortable. He's not a freshman anymore."
The game was competitive throughout the first half with neither team leading by more than six points. Southern went inside to center Gene Teague early, and he delivered six of the team's first eight points. The Purple Aces (7-18, 1-4) began double-teaming the big freshman, and he adjusted by recording a career-high three assists.
"(Gene) can pass it whether his back is to the basket or he's facing up," Lowery said. "He's such a factor every time he catches. Every time we go to his side, that sucks the defense in on him, which allowed for Kendal to have some open shots and Kevin got some shots off.
Southern had a clear advantage in the paint between Teague and sophomore forward Anthony Booker, who added eight points off the bench. Booker keyed 15-6 run early in the second half with six-straight points -- the final bucket giving Southern a 52-37 lead with 13:44 remaining in the game.
Twice, Evansville cut the lead to seven points, but Dillard answered both times by hitting a 3-pointer to push the lead back to double digits. Dillard played just 18 minutes but scored 14 points -- his highest output in the last five games. Lowery appreciated the sophomore guard's attitude while on the bench.
Brown-Surles' six assists were a career high, and his most spectacular dish came in the final minute when he lofted the ball over a defender to Freeman for a one-handed jam.
Southern shot 56 percent from the field, its second-straight game over the 50 percent mark. The Salukis also made 40 percent of their 3-point tries and are shooting 46 percent from downtown in their last four games.
Defensively, SIU held Evansville's top-two scorers -- Colt Ryan and James Haarsma -- to a combined 10 points. Ryan, who is a leading candidate for Missouri Valley Conference freshman-of-the-year honors, was 1-of-6 from the field.
The Salukis have had trouble protecting leads in the second half, and Lowery was pleased that his team kept the Purple Aces at bay.
"We told them don't think about what has happened in the past," he said. "We just did a good job of going to the end of the shot clock and making sure that we got the right shot that we wanted."