For the second year in a row, the Bradley University men’s basketball team had its run in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament ended by Drake.
The third-seeded Braves held the lead with eight minutes to play and were within one point with less than a minute to go Saturday, but ultimately dropped a 72-67 decision to the No. 2 Bulldogs in the Arch Madness semifinals at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
“It's a passionate, emotional, intense game,” Bradley coach Brian Wardle said after the hard-fought defeat. “You put your heart and soul in, hours and hours and hours and days and days and days for these moments, and you just want it to play out with the players making plays. I think we just didn't make enough plays.”
Braves junior guard Connor Hickman led all scorers with 21 points while senior guard Duke Deen added 13. Bradley limited Drake to one field goal over the final 5½ minutes, but the Bulldogs made 6 of 9 free throws over that stretch to maintain the lead.
“Just disappointed right now,” said fifth-year forward Malevy Leons, the MVC Defensive Player of the Year who drew the task of guarding two-time league MVP Tucker DeVries. “We tried our best and just hopefully we get another game.”
The Braves (22-11) were looking to avenge their loss to Drake in last year’s MVC final and move into a title-game matchup with No. 1 Indiana State. Instead, Bradley must wait to see if it will receive a call to the postseason – likely the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
“That's what I've heard. I don't know, though,” said Wardle, acknowledging they’re all but assured to miss the NCAA Tournament. “No, we won’t be in the NCAA, no way. It stinks to say that, but we won't be. I think that's the reality of it; we know that. What I've seen of (NIT) projections – we’re not a lock, we don't know for sure – but hopefully, maybe we can keep playing.”
Following a 38-all halftime tie, Drake forged a six-point lead on two occasions in the first 10 minutes of the second half. But Bradley battled back to move ahead 58-56 on a Christian Davis layup with 8:45 left. The Bulldogs went back in front on a 3-pointer with just under seven minutes left.
Still, the Braves didn’t fold and got within 68-67 on a Hickman basket with 50 seconds on the clock. After a DeVries bucket put Drake up by three with 25 seconds to go. Hickman missed a 3-pointer at the 4-second mark and DeVries grabbed the rebound before making two more free throws to seal the Bulldogs’ win.
“I thought as the year went on, we became a more connected team, where as last year we were kind of connected from the start,” Hickman said. “That's why this one hurt a little more to me because I think we grew together a lot more than we did in the previous years.”
