'What a moment': How a streak of 3s and Bradley's walk-ons led to a rout of Murray State

PEORIA — The Bradley Braves put on their throwback script uniforms and authored quite a show Saturday, as walk-ons Sam Hennessey and Cade Hardtke became main characters, Ville Tahvanainen brought the house down with five consecutive 3s and Rienk Mast and Connor Hickman delivered some payback.

The Braves gave a crowd of 6,231 at Carver Arena an 83-48 victory over Murray State to stay in a first-place tie in the Missouri Valley Conference with their sixth straight win.

But they gave them much more than that.

Box score: Murray State at Bradley | Preview: Murray State at BU | Standings: MVC

"That was one of the greatest moments of my coaching career," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said as he emerged grinning from the locker room, grinning broadly. "Seeing those two guys score. What a moment for them, for the team."

Wardle was talking about sophomore walk-ons Hennessey and Hardtke, who thrilled their teammates in the final minutes by delivering their first college points.

Hennessey fired up a 3 with 2:03 left and drained it, and the bench was wild.

"We were just running our offense and Goanar (Biliew) set the perfect pin screen, then I got a great pass," Hennessey said. "I took the shot and saw it go in, and it was just so much fun. That was my first college shot. My first college points.

"I dreamed of that moment, and my teammates helped me get it. I'm blessed to have unselfish players all around me."

Hardtke was next, thrashing into the paint and tossing up a turnaround shot in traffic for Bradley's final points with 29 seconds left.

"That shot was planned for sure," Hardtke said, laughing. "We run drills in practice for this. It was exciting, what a moment."

When they first emerged from the BU locker room, the pair looked startled, saying they weren't sure where they were supposed to go or what to do for their postgame debut.

Welcome to center stage.

"The highlight was seeing Sam hit a 3 and Cade make a shot," Wardle said. "That's what it's all about. I've said it over and over this is an unselfish team. They want each other to be successful. When you have guys individually who want their teammates to be as successful as them you can have a good year.

"Sam and Cade kind of epitomize our unselfishness every day, how they practice, help run the scout team. To see them finally get officially in the books is pretty special for everyone in that locker room."

'Ville, Ville, Ville'

The walk-ons had a chance to play, in part, because Bradley's Tahvanainen blew open the game in spectacular fashion down the stretch. He went 6-of-6 from 3-point range for a game-high 18 points.

But he hit five consecutive 3s in a stretch of 3:10 to give Bradley a 78-44 lead and allow the benches to be cleared.

"I thought we were moving the ball well," said Tahvanainen, tongue out as he skipped back from the fourth one, holding four fingers in the air. "My guys were finding me and gave me confidence and today it went in."

It was the most 3-pointers in a game in Tahvanainen's career and the crowd started chanting "Ville, Ville" as he fired in the fourth and fifth ones.

"That was pretty awesome (the chant)," Tahvanainen said. "The crowd was into it. In my experience, I've never heard or seen something like that happen.

"This is definitely a game to remember for me. We played a great game as a team overall. I'll be honest, these last couple weeks are the most fun I've had in my career here."

Getting even

Bradley lost 67-58 at Murray State on Jan. 4. Mast was held to three points and one rebound in that game. Hickman shot 1-of-9 in that game.

Saturday was a different story in the rematch. Mast had 14 points, including 10 in the second half. Hickman came back for 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting.

"They remembered our first game, we didn't play really well …" Wardle said. "We challenged Rienk at halftime and he responded. Everyone had big moments. Zek Montgomery got us going offensively in the second half. Duke's leadership throughout the game was tremendous.

"We go out in the second half and Rienk was really good, Hickman really good and then Ville closed it out.

"Hickman has his rhythm back, Ville has his back. Great team win. We have to keep it going and stay humble."

The turning point

The Braves trailed by seven midway through the first half as Murray State ran and BU struggled to make shots.

But when it turned, it turned in a big way. The Braves hammered the Racers with a 19-0 run from the last six minutes of the first half through the first three minutes of the second half.

BU forward Christian Davis came off the bench and hit a corner 3 for a 21-21 tie with 3:55 left in the first half.

Murray State never challenged again.

"Darius Hannah gave us a huge lift again, blocked shots, dunks, steals," Wardle said. "Christian Davis hit a huge 3, kind of got us off the schneid of missing a lot of 3s in a row. Then Ville hits a bunch of 3s, Ja'Shon Henry was good off the bench …"

It added up to a 38-8 bench points win for Bradley, which scored 53 points in the second half.

"We stick together," Tahvanainen said. "We weren't making shots early on but we stuck together and shots started going in later on."

Said Hickman: "We had to come in and be locked in. Last game Murray State did not see us, did not see Bradley basketball and I thought today we really showed that. (A different hero every game) It's what makes us dangerous."

In the huddle

• Bradley head coach Brian Wardle: "I think our mental toughness is better. We're mentally responding when we have little dips in the game, we keep executing. As long as we keep doing that we could go on a good ride here."

• Wardle, on how Bradley must navigate through a tight Valley race: "They are all big games and I think it could come down to the very last game. We have to block out all the noise, stay together."

• Bradley senior guard Ville Tahvanainen, on walk-ons Sam Hennessey and Cade Hardtke scoring their first college points: "Honestly, those guys are the reason we're ready for each game. They are as committed to the team as anyone, and we are so happy for them."

• Bradley guard Connor Hickman, on Hennessey and Hardtke: "Best part of the game today. It makes it better. Those are the guys who are in the gym every day and don't always get the recognition. They are putting in the same we are, getting beat up in practice, doing the same things, and for them to get that moment -- they really deserved it. It was awesome. The heart of our team, those two."

• Hickman, on how the Bradley team has established itself as an elite contender: "Everyone is growing as a player and a person. We're getting better at what impacts us, things we can't control like shots not going in."

Bravely Speaking

Bradley improved to 19-8 overall and 12-4 in conference. Murray State slipped to 13-13 (8-8). … Indiana State won at Northern Iowa, Belmont crushed UIC, and Drake ripped Southern Illinois (82-59). That left Bradley in a first-place tie with Drake atop the Valley. SIU, Belmont and Indiana State are one game back, then Missouri State two games back. … Bradley's six-game win streak is its longest under coach Brian Wardle. It's also the longest win streak overall, and in the Missouri Valley Conference, since the 2007-08 team won six under Jim Les from Jan. 19-Feb. 6, 2008. … Bradley fifth-year forward Ja'Shon Henry has 969 career points as he pushes to become the 51st player in Bradley history to reach 1,000 career points. … The Braves hosted Murray State for the first time since 1981, and snapped a four-game home losing streak against the Racers. ... Bradley's official scorekeeping crew was hit with illness before tipoff, and the stats were not accurate for rebounds, assists, blocks, steals and in some cases, points and score of the game. The Braves re-watched the game and put together a box score Saturday evening, and it had some great numbers in it. For instance: Bradley shot 20 of 25 from the field in the second half. Officially, Rienk Mast had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Malevy Leons had 8 points, 7 rebounds, a steal and two blocks. Connor Hickman went for 11 points and had 5 rebounds. Bradley made 11 of 25 from 3-point range. BU had 16 assists to only 4 for Murray State. The Racers got 13 points from DJ Burns. Murray State shot just 13 of 43 (30.2%) from the field. Bradley dominated the paint, 38-14.

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 Twitter @icetimecleve.

FINAL: Bradley 83, Murray State 48

Metta takes the floor

2:45 p.m.: Bradley up 75-44 with 3:52 left, and the Braves send out 7-foot-1 Ahmet Jonovic for some minutes.

Thanks for coming

2:40 p.m.: Ville Tahvanainen hits four straight 3s and Connor Hickman drives to the rim. That makes it 75-44 with 4:53 left. Game over.

Bradley 61, Murray State 41

2:30 p.m.: Rienk Mast with 10 points in the second half, 14 for the game, as BU opens a 20-point lead late in second half.

Mast is better

2:19 p.m.: Rienk Mast put in five points in the first eight minutes of the second half, upping his game total to 9 against a Murray State team that held him to 3 points in a BU road loss Jan. 4.

BU leads 53-36 at the under-12 media break.

Bradley 48, Murray State 30

2:11 p.m.: Malevy Leons powered to the rim for a layin as Bradley scored on its first two possessions of the second half for a 35-21 lead.

Bradley run closed at 19-0 over 8:11, touching both halves, to a 35-21 lead.

Murray State scratching back, and it's 48-30 Bradley off a long two from Connor Hickman and a layin by Henry and a drive and-1 from Rienk Mast with 14:30 left.

HALFTIME: Bradley 31, Murray State 21

1:44 p.m.: Bradley either went on a 13-0 or 15-0 run over the final six minutes to closeout the first half. There was an illness on the stats crew, and the team will probably have to re-watch the game when it is over to figure out an official box score. What exists now is significantly inaccurate, not usable.

I know this: Malevy Leons has at least 8 points, 5 blocks and 5 rebounds in the first half.

Significant scorekeeping issues here

1:37 p.m.: Rienk Mast two-pointer has been credited as a Connor Hickman 3, somehow. Malevy Leons has 4 blocks in this game and at least 8 points. In the official box, he has not scored and has no blocks and no rebounds. And Bradley's point total has been off by one most of the half.

Braves battle back to tie

1:33 p.m.: Christian Davis comes off the bench and nails a corner 3 to pull Bradley into a 21-21 tie with 4:09 left in the first half.

Murray State 19, Bradley 14

1:25 p.m.: Bradley big man Darius Hannah with a steal and monster dunk to close within 16-14 at 8:12.

Murray State answers with a corner 3 from Ja'Cobi Wood for 19-14.

Murray State stretches lead

1:19 p.m.: Murray State freshman guard Justin Miller hit a jumper and a pull-up 3 on consecutive trips to build a 16-10 lead over Bradley at the midway point of the half.

Murray State leads early

1:08 p.m.: Zek Montgomery drains a corner 3, but Murray State working inside through DJ Burns and has an 8-5 lead at the 16-under break.

Leons ready

1:05 p.m.: Bradley forward Malevy Leons blocks DJ Burns shot on Murray State's opening possession. Grabs two rebounds after that. Then rolls to the rim, takes a feed from Rienk Mast and gets Bradley on the board.

Starting lineups

12:55 p.m.: Bradley first five are guards Connor Hickman and Duke Deen, forward Malevy Leons, center Rienk Mast and wing Zek Montgomery.

Murray State opens with guards Brian Moore Jr., Rob Perry and Ja'Cobi Wood, and forwards Jamari Smith and DJ Burns.

Other Bradley basketball stories

• The MVC basketball awards race is tight. Here's how coaches think it'll shake out

• 'Just call me Duke': Meet Bradley's dynamic little point guard

• Analysis: 14 things to know about Bradley after the first half of the Valley season

• Newest Brave: High-scoring prep combo guard from Milwaukee commits to Bradley basketball

• 'Technology, trust and an 11-hour flight: How Bradley landed this unique 7-foot-1 recruit

• Braves vs. Braves: How does Bradley compare to its recent tournament teams?

• Darius Hannah: Bradley Braves man in the middle has found a basketball family

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 'What a moment': How a streak of 3s, and Bradley Braves walk-ons routed Racers