'Smiling the whole way': Bradley routs Illinois State on way to player and coach milestones

NORMAL — Malevy Leons and coach Brian Wardle reached historic milestones while the Bradley Braves took Illinois State to the watershed Saturday in a Missouri Valley Conference game.

Leons reached 1,000 career points — the 53rd player in BU history to do so — and Bradley defeated the Redbirds, 73-60, before 6,871 at CEFCU Arena.

"I'm really proud to be part of that group," Leons said. "It's just something cool to have done in my three years. I was counting in my head how many more I needed.

"Once I got it I was smiling the whole way."

'I came out mad': Bradley guard starts hot, leads Braves to big win over Northern Iowa

So were the rest of the Braves, who held a 25-point lead as late as midway through the second half, and looked to be headed for one of their biggest margins of victory in the rivals' long series history, since a 77-54 win on Dec. 12, 1990 in Normal.

Bradley tore up Illinois State at the rim for 40 points from the paint. Hannah had 18 points, including four dunks and two layups. The Braves got four driving layups off the bench from Demarion Burch and nine layups from the team in the first half alone.

But Leons' count down to 1,000 points closed when he drove from the wing to the basket and put in a layup against Myles Foster with 18:40 left in the second half. That gave him 1,001 points, and the Bradley senior went on to score a game-high 23 and finish with 1,017 so far for his career.

"Congrats to Malevy with over 1,000 points in three years," Wardle said. "Couldn't have happened to a better guy. Great work ethic, great teammate, I was very proud of him. His offensive game has gotten better each year. He's always been a high-motor, high-effort kid. I didn't do that, that was in him when we recruited him.

"I think he's going to have a long pro career. I think he's going to get some tryouts and looks. He's hit 3s and he can really, really defend and he's long and has good instincts.

"What makes him special is his personality. He's a happy-go-lucky guy. He has a mean streak, a competitive streak to him, when you get to know him on that court that helps him produce on the floor at a high level."

And with nine regular-season games left, plus the postseason, Leons could well finish among the top 40 BU scorers all-time.

A glimpse of the future

Freshman Demarion Burch came off the bench and sliced up Illinois State with four layups in the first half and 10 points over 17:29 on the court. He's been under the tutelage of former Bradley great guard Darrell Brown Jr., who is in his first year on Wardle's coaching staff.

"I worked on my game every morning at like 7 a.m., me and DB (Darrell Brown) … working on my shots, slashing to the rim, things like that," Burch said. "Working on my craft and be better each and every day."

Brown's advice that resonates with him? "Stay patient and wait my turn," Burch said. "We got seniors here like Malevy (got to 1,000 points). My time will come."

Burch came in and drove to the rim three times in a span of 2:39 midway through the second half to push Bradley's lead to 13 points.

"Super-talented kid, he's just scratching the surface, learning the game right now," Wardle said. "We knew Burch was a physical talent, gifted player offensively but he was going to take some time to learn the game … little details."

Dunking Darius

Bradley's big man in the middle, Darius Hannah, threw down two dunks in the first 2:35 of the second half for a 45-24 lead, and it was over. He had four dunks in the game on the way to 18 points, and was 8-of-8 shooting from the field until his final shot of the game, with 3:38, missed from the paint on a hook shot.

"It's a rivalry," Hannah said. "We expect the most out of them. And everybody brings their 'A' game against Bradley. And it was a good road win."

'It's incredible': Bradley Braves reward walk-ons with basketball scholarships for rest of season

Hannah has shot 60.8% from the field for his career, the third-best mark in Bradley history. He came into Saturday's game at ISU shooting 62.9% from the field — ranking 13th in the nation and not much behind the likes of Jonathan Mogbo, JT Toppin and Vladislav Golden.

"I missed my last shot," Hannah said, grinning. "I was like, 'Damn.' "

Wardle catches Versace

The victory was the 81st in the Valley for Brian Wardle in his BU coaching career. That pulled him into a tie for fourth all-time with Dick Versace.

"Coach Versace was great to me from Day 1 (when) I got this job," Wardle said. "He was in Chicago lots, and whenever I'd go into Chicago to recruit I'd stop by and have coffee with him in the mornings and pick his brain. Great basketball mind. Loved Peoria, loved Bradley. To be tied with him is an honor."

They said it

● Illinois State guard Malachi Poindexter: "This was not (the result) we wanted to happen."

● Illinois State 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward Myles Foster, who was limited to 10 points and three rebounds while up against Hannah, was asked if Bradley's length at every position made them hard to guard and rebound: "I don't think it's difficult. We just gotta be better. It's about being tough. They were the tougher team today."

BU merch: How Obvious Shirts ended up on merch stands at Bradley basketball games

● Bradley head coach Brian Wardle: "Our guys came out ready to play from the jump. Poindexter was great for them in the second half hitting 3s. "

● Wardle, after the 73-60 win:

"Proud of my team. It's hard to win, definitely on the road, coming down 74 and playing them. They've been playing well. Illinois State … I'm nervous every game, but I was very nervous for this game."

● Wardle, on how Bradley got its game going inside:

"I thought we did a good job setting good strong screens … I thought we set some great angle screens, back-screens, back-cuts, good execution out of timeouts and my staff was again on-point with some things to tweak here and there."

● Illinois State head coach Ryan Pedon: "Credit Bradley, they are a really good team … they are elite offensively … intelligent … they have high-major length. We weren't good enough."

Bravely Speaking

Bradley improved to 17-6 overall and 9-3 in the Valley. Illinois State slipped to 11-12 (5-7). … Northern Iowa got destroyed at home Saturday, 71-43, by Murray State, so the Braves are now three games up on UNI. … Southern Illinois won, remaining two games behind Bradley. … Drake, on the road at Indiana State, was losing big in the first half. If Drake loses that game, Bradley moves up into a second-place tie with the Bulldogs in the Valley race -- with two games still to play between the teams. … Bradley got 23 points and four rebounds from Malevy Leons, 18 points (four dunks) from Darius Hannah, and 10 points each from Connor Hickman and Demarion Burch. Duke Deen dished seven assists, and Christian Davis had five rebounds. … Big man Ahmet Jonovic logged 5:28. … ISU got 16 points from Malachi Poindexter, who hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Kendall Lewis added a game-high seven rebounds, while Dalton Banks had six assists. … The Braves shot 58.8% from the field, including 38.1% from 3. ISU shot 30.8% in the first half and 43.1% for the game. … BU is 9-8 against ISU under coach Brian Wardle. … The Braves lead the all-time series, 72-65. ... The Braves, for the second straight game, never trailed. … The Braves next outing is at Evansville on Wednesday. They come home to host Drake on Feb. 10.

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. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

Tiny Toulon to the Bradley hilltop: Remembering all-American basketball player Paul Unruh

FINAL: Bradley 73, Illinois State 60

Wardle moving up on list

2:43 p.m.: Bradley head coach Brian Wardle will move up into a tie with Dick Versace on the program's all-time list of Missouri Valley Conference career coaching victories if the Braves close this out today. Bradley rolling 68-49 with four minutes left.

Bradley 59, Illinois State 35

2:23 p.m.: Malevy Leons now with 15 points, topped only by Darius Hannah's 16 (on 7 of 7 shooting) as Bradley has a blowout in the works midway through second half.

BU shooting 60% from the field. Braves haven't beaten Illinois State by 20+ in a game since 2007.

History and a huge lead

2:10 p.m.: Two more dunks by Darius Hannah and Malevy Leon's milestone maker and now the Braves have a 45-24 lead at the under-16 break in CEFCU Arena.

HALFTIME: Braves 39, Illinois State 20

1:48 p.m.: The Braves close out the half with a driving layup from Darius Hannah and then, following a defensive stop, a dunk from Hannah for 39-20 with 78 seconds left in the half.

The Braves poured in 22 points in the paint, with guards Demarion Burch and Duke Deen slicing to the rim a combined six times. Bradley scored on layups nine times in the half.

Burch came off the bench for 8 points in 8:27, while Deen had 9 and Hannah had 8.

The Braves 54.8% from the field and held ISU to 30.8% shooting.

Braves break it open

1:37 p.m.: Malevy Leons puts down a 3, then Duke Deen follows with a layup off a fastbreak and stepback jumper and suddenly it's 33-19 Braves with 3:26 left.

Leons has 5, puts him at 999 points.

Braves 23, ISU 16

1:32 p.m.: The Braves got a pair of layups from Demarion Burch and one from Duke Deen in between as they punished ISU inside for a 23-10 lead over a 68-second span late in the first half.

The Redbirds answered with six straight, the last of which was a Kendall Lewis dunk off a turnover by Ahmet Jonovic that pushed Bradley into a timeout with a 23-16 lead at 7:17 left.

Braves build 7-point lead

1:24 p.m.: Bradley's Malevy Leons two quick fouls, sits down with 16:20 left in first half.

Braves build 7-point lead on a 3 from the left corner by Christian Davis, then a pair of 3s from Connor Hickman, the first from the right wing, then a left corner shot for a 17-10 lead as break arrives with 10:39 left first half.

Bradley up early

1:14 p.m.: The Braves get a reverse layup from Malevy Leons, working the baseline against Ty Pence, for a 6-4 lead as the first media break arrives at 15:48.

1,000

12:58 p.m.: Bradley star Malevy Leons heads into this game at 994 career points. He's trying to become the 53rd player in Bradley history to reach 1,000.

Starting lineups

12:53 p.m.: Bradley opens with guards Connor Hickman and Duke Deen, forward Malevy Leons, center Darius Hannah and wing Almar Atlason. Illinois State rolls with guards Ty Pence, Darius Burford and Dalton Banks, forward Myles Foster and Kendall Lewis.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley basketball defeats rival Illinois State: Recap from Normal