Bradley forced overtime and nearly faded Indiana State in battle for top of the Missouri Valley

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — It was the heavyweight battle the Missouri Valley Conference thought it would be.

And the smallest guy on the floor nearly landed the knockout punch for the Bradley Braves.

Little Bradley guard Duke Deen, 5-foot-8, 170 pounds and 50% blind in one eye, hammered the Sycamores with a career-high 31 points — including a stretch in which he scored 14 points in a span of 3:31 in the second half — but couldn't quite finish them in a game in which a win would have lifted Bradley into a first-place tie with Indiana State.

The Braves faded in overtime to a 95-86 loss Saturday before a near-sellout crowd of 8,223 at Hulman Center in a game both teams thought they should have won in regulation.

BOX SCORE: Indiana State 95, Bradley 86 (OT)

"We aspire to be great and play in games like this," said Deen, who hobbled up and down the court in the final seconds, willing his body. "This game had everything … great atmosphere. We knew this was going to be a great game."

Afterward, Indiana State coach Josh Schertz sat in the interview room, wearing the replica goggles of center Robbie Aliva that were giveaway items to the fans.

"Unbelievable college basketball game," Schertz said. "That was a heavyweight fight, two teams going toe-to-toe. I don't know if that was Duke Deen or Damian Lillard. He was unbelievable. Bradley has a championship DNA. They just keep coming at you.

"When we looked like we were about to get knocked out, our crowd willed us back in it. If we had lost this game it would have been a heartbreaker."

The final 28 seconds

Bradley rallied from a four-point halftime deficit, built a five-point lead midway through the second half, fell behind by seven with under six minutes left in regulation, then had the ball in a tie game with 28 seconds left.

The ball went in to guard Connor Hickman, and the play bogged down on the perimeter while the clock ran down to 6.6 seconds before Indiana State fouled to stop play.

Bradley earned another inbounds play, and this time Darius Hannah ended up with the ball and rushed a drive through the lane. The Sycamores' Aliva altered Hannah's shot and the game went to overtime.

"I wanted to shoot it," Deen said of the first inbounds play. "At the end, I was ready to finish it. It just didn't come together for us. But on that last play, if I got it I was going to shoot it from wherever I was at."

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Bradley coach Brian Wardle talked about that final possession in regulation, and the impact of the game on BU's season.

"Obviously we're not out of the race," Wardle said. "Our guys showed a lot of fight and fire and we had our chances to win that game. We just didn't do a great job of getting open and getting what we wanted there at the end."

The Deen Machine's 14-point blitz

Deen and Hickman combined for 4 of 15 shooting in the first half. But down four points as the second half opened, Deen turned in a spectacular sequence:

• 3-pointer at 18:54 to pull Bradley to within 35-34.

• 3-pointer at 18:15 to pull Bradley within 38-37.

• Driving layup at 17:46 to pull Bradley within 40-39.

• Pull-up jumper at 16:27 to give Bradley a 43-42 lead.

• Free throw at 16:03 for 44-42.

• 3-pointer at 15:21 for a 47-44 BU lead.

"(Wardle) looked at me at halftime and said, 'The second half is yours,' " Deen said.

Message received. "I challenged them at halftime, they had to be better," Wardle said of his two guards. "We weren't going to win that game if they didn't take it to another level on both ends. Duke's fire and competitive spirit we fed off in the second half. Our guards played way better than the second half."

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Overtime and the aftermath

Indiana State ran off with it in the overtime session as Bradley's defense faltered.

Indiana State got free throws from Avila and a 3 from Isaiah Swope to jump to an 83-78 lead 84 seconds into overtime. Deen then hit a pair of free throws and knocked down his sixth 3-pointer to pull the Braves back into an 83-83 tie with 2:52 left.

But Avila hit a 3, Xavier Bledson came off the bench to hit a 3, and Swope hit consecutive driving layups for 93-86 with 41 seconds left.

"We made a lot of mental mistakes (defensively) and that led to a lot of big 3s for them," Wardle said. "Transition defense hurt us in the second half and, obviously, it killed us in overtime."

Indiana State swept the two-game season series from the Braves. There could be a third meeting yet, in St. Louis in March.

"They are a tough matchup for us," Wardle said. "Good team, competitive. We got to find a way, if we see them in March, to get them. I think we can."

Said Indiana State guard Ryan Conwell, who had a team-high 22 points: "It's hard to beat a team twice. Even harder three times … when that time comes, we'll be ready."

They said it

• Wardle, when asked afterward what the game meant: "It just gave Indiana State their second-best win. Their two best wins are Bradley."

• Indiana State guard Ryan Conwell: "It's the kind of game you dream of … we have some dogs on this team."

• Wardle, on the crowd and the momentum and the game's big stage: "That crowd was awesome, atmosphere was wonderful. Give them credit for that. I had to burn timeouts to quiet the place. That was a great college basketball game."

• Schertz, reflecting on his journey at the Sycamores helm: "There's been no yellowbrick road for us … we've had to earn everything we've gotten."

• Bradley forward Malevy Leons, after the loss: "Hey, our season is not over. We're going to see that team again. It was a big atmosphere and we handled it."

• Wardle, on an underlying cause for the loss: "You can't win shootouts on the road. Our defense had to be better to finish that."

Bravely Speaking

Bradley slips to 15-6 overall, 7-3 in the Valley. Indiana State is 18-3 (9-1). … Braves guard Duke Deen piled up a game-high 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting (6-of-9 from 3) and added four assists in 43 minutes. … Malevy Leons had 18 points and six rebounds in 42:32. … Isaiah Swope opened 1-of-7 shooting until he heated up in the final couple minutes of the first half. He finished with 19 points and 6 assists in 42:37. … Ryan Conwell had 22 points for the Sycamores in nearly 44 minutes. … Former Bradley wing Jayson Kent had 17 points and 16 rebounds in a game-high 45 minutes. ... Bradley's 95-86 OT loss at Indiana State marked the most points the Braves have scored in a loss since a 92-90 loss to Hofstra on Nov. 21, 2016. ... And the 95 points allowed are the most in a game since a 100-66 loss at Wichita State on Jan. 1, 2017. ... There were 11 lead changes, the game was tied 13 times, and neither team led by more than 6 during regulation.

Below are our live updates from the game.

FINAL: Indiana State 95, Bradley 86 (OT)

Bradley 78, Indiana State 78, heading to overtime

6:59 p.m.: A pair of free throws from Jayson Kent pulled Indiana State into a tie with 28 seconds left. The Braves did not get a shot to go down in the final possession of regulation.

Braves charge into the lead

6:51 p.m.: The Braves turned it when Hannah rebounded an Avila miss, then watched as Leons drove for a layup for a 76-76 tie at 1:22.

Then Avila was stripped of the ball in the paint, and Hannah turned up the other end and dunked it for a 78-76 BU lead with 50.5 seconds left.

Hickman makes it a 2-point game

6:56 p.m.: Following a pair of free throws by Indiana State, Bradley guard Hickman hit a 3 from the left wing to get BU within 76-74 at 1:54.

Darius Hannah giving them life

6:41 p.m.: Darius Hannah worked inside for two straight lay-ins to bring BU back within 74-71 as the clock worked under four minutes remaining.

Indiana State has BU in trouble

6:36 p.m.: Indiana State charged right back, though, getting a jumper from Conwell, then a layup and-1 from Larry and a layup from Conwell within 1:54 to rocket into a 66-63 lead while Bradley twice turned it over.

Leons put away a pair of layups around another 3 by Conwell and Bradley was down, 71-67.

The Braves missed shots on three straight possessions after that, then Swope hit a corner 3 to put Indiana State in control at 74-67 with 5:31 left.

It's a battle now

6:24 p.m.: Bradley guard Connor Hickman joined the party after a tough-shooting first half, hitting a jumper, a 3 and a driving layup-and-1 to give the Braves a 58-55 lead at 12:14. Another Deen 3 gave BU a 63-58 lead at 11:02, but Indiana State answered 17 seconds later with Conwell's 3 from the right wing. Deen had a turnover on the ensuing possession, though.

Duke crowns Indiana State with 14 points in 3:31

6:12 p.m.: The Braves opened the second half with a trio of buckets from Deen -- the first two of which were 3s -- to close within 40-39.

Then former BU wing Jayson Kent ignited the crowd when he dunked on Malevy Leons. Bradley answered with a bucket from Hannah to cut to 42-41.

Then Deen hit another shot -- a pull-up jumper at 16:27 -- for a 43-42 BU lead.

Deen continued on his torrid pace, hitting five straight shots -- including a three 3s -- plus a free throw for 14 points in a span of 3:31.

That put Bradley into its biggest lead of the game at 47-44 as the break arrived with 14:55 left.

By the numbers

5:52 p.m.: Indiana State star Isaiah Swope was 1 of 7 shooting in the first 17:37 of the game. He ended up with 9 points at the half on 3 of 10 shooting (1 of 4 from 3) and 2 of 5 on free throws.

The Sycamores were just 3 of 12 from 3-point range.

Bradley got a game-high 10 points from Almar Atlason, including a pair of 3s. BU guard Connor Hickman struggled on 1 of 7 shooting (0 of 4 from 3-point range).

Bradley shot just 36% in the first half.

The Braves out-rebounded the Sycamores 23-17.

Both teams with just three made 3s in the first half. Wow.

HALFTIME: Indiana State 33, Bradley 29

5:50 p.m.: The Braves took a 27-26 lead on Deen's long 2 from the top of the key with 2:37 left.

But Indiana State rattled off seven straight points to the 58-seconds mark. Bradley had a turnover and a missed jumper in that stretch, while Indiana State got a layup from Larry and a 3-pointer off the left wing from Swope for 33-27.

The Braves got a hook in the paint from Darius Hannah to get to halftime down 33-29.

Bradley 23, Indiana State 23

5:38 p.m.: Bradley rallied to a 23-23 tie when Deen nailed a 3 from the top of the key at 4:44, Davis grabbed a rebound off a missed Indiana State 3, and then Almar Atlason drained a 3 from the left wing at 4:22 as they reached the under-4 media break.

Puttering around

5:29 p.m.: The crowd booed the Bradley coaches at the under-8 minute media break when they huddled in front of a fan as he was preparing to putt from the baseline to a target at the other end of the floor.

Deen on the board to pull BU with 18-17

5:29 p.m.: The Braves had two shot clock violations in a span of 3:30, but closed to within 18-17 at 9:10 when Deen hit a fall away jumper.

BU guards start slow

5:25 p.m.: BU guards Connor Hickman and Duke Deen were a combined 1 of 9 shooting in the first 8:35.

Braves rally within 2

5:20 p.m.: Conwell sank a 3 from the left wing and was fouled by Christian Davis for a four-point play and 14-8 lead at 12:41.

Bradley missed four straight shots during that stretch.

But BU rallied with a second-chance hook by Darius Hannah, a defensive stop, and then a driving layup by Davis to close within 14-12 at 11:25.

Tied at first break, 8-8

5:12 p.m.: The Braves weathered the early emotional storm from the sellout crowd and got to the first media break in an 8-8 tie.

Malevy Leons got that tie on a turnaround jumper with 15:50 left in the first half.

He grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back up earlier to give BU a 4-3 lead.Indiana State with two turnovers in the first 5:58.

Inside the Hulman Center

4:20 p.m.: The Braves are shooting around, while Trees students go shirtless and paint up, and 9-year-old Parker sports his goggles -- a giveaway item representing Indiana State center Robbie Avila.

Starting lineups

4:35 p.m.: Bradley rolls with guards Duke Deen and Connor Hickman, forward Malevy Leons, center Darius Hannah and wing Almar Atlason.

Indiana State counters with guards Isaiah Swope, Julian Larry, Ryan Conwell and Jayson Kent, and center Robbie Avila.

Looking ahead

2:49 p.m.: Bradley next hosts Northern Iowa on Wednesday, then heads to Normal for a duel with Illinois State.

Indiana State is at Belmont on Wednesday and hosts Drake on Saturday (ESPN2).

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.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: College basketball: Indiana State Sycamores beat Bradley Braves in overtime