The No. 2-seeded Bradley men’s basketball team fended off an upset bid from No. 7 Valparaiso in the third Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinal Friday.
Ahmet Jonovic’s tiebreaking jumper with 2:32 left in the second extra session put the Braves (21-11) ahead for good in a 90-84 win at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
A.J. Smith’s three-point play with 1:47 remaining padded the advantage, and Jaquan Johnson followed with a breakaway layup to push the margin to 82-76 with 1:28 on the clock.
The Braves survived after letting a six-point lead slip away in the final minute of regulation as Valpo got 3-pointers from Brody Whitaker and Justus McNair.
Bradley returned the favor late in the first overtime when Alex Huibregtse hit a 3-pointer to pull even at 73-73, and the Beacons missed a pair of chances at a buzzer-beater.
Johnson and Jonovic scored 18 points apiece to lead the Braves, who held Valpo to just four field goals on 15 shots in the overtime periods.
Bradley advanced to Saturday’s 5 p.m. Arch Madness semifinal against the winner of Friday’s late game between No. 3 Illinois State and No. 6 Northern Iowa.
Valpo was looking to be the third underdog winner of the day, after No. 9 Drake rolled past regular-season champion Belmont, 100-79, and No. 5 UIC handled No. 4 Murray State, 92-79.
