The postseason run has drawn to a close for the Bradley men’s basketball team.
The No. 3-seed Braves suffered a 67-65 loss to Chattanooga in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals Tuesday night at Carver Arena.
With the loss, Bradley finished its 10th season under head coach Brian Wardle with an overall record of 28-9.
A seesaw second half saw Bradley take its last lead at 61-59 on a layup by freshman Jaquan Johnson with 2:40 left to play. Fifth-year guard Duke Deen hit a 3-pointer to snap a 5-0 run by the Mocs and tie the game at 64-64 with :41 on the clock.
But Chattanooga’s Trey Bonham hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 15 seconds left and Bradley added just one free throw by Deen the rest of the way, ending the Braves’ hopes of a trip to Indianapolis for the semifinals.
Bradley led most of the first half, by as much as 16 points, before the Mocs’ Honor Huff hit a 3-pointer that cut the Braves’ advantage to 38-25 at halftime.
Sophomore guard Demarion Burch led Bradley with 14 points, while Deen added 13 in his final game. Johnson and Christian Davis added 10 points apiece for the Braves, who connected on just 6 of 18 shots from 3-point range (33.3%).
Huff led Chattanooga (27-9) with 21 points while Bonham followed with 17. The Mocs made 11 shots from 3-point range while attempting 56 (30.6%). They will face the winner of Wednesday's game between Loyola-Chicago and Kent State in the semifinals.
Bradley’s appearance in the quarterfinals matched the team’s 1994 NIT run under head coach Jim Molinari that featured wins over Murray State and Old Dominion before a loss to Siena.
