Road woes: How Bradley's size came up short in loss at Murray State
The Bradley Braves were the much longer team, but they ended up longing for a victory in a Missouri Valley Conference battle Wednesday against the Murray State Racers.
The Braves slid to a 67-58 loss to Murray State at CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky, their second straight road loss in the Valley.
The team that is 8-0 at home this season is now 2-6 on the road overall.
"It's not a game we feel very good about," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said.
Box score: Bradley at Murray State | Preview: BU at MSU | Standings: MVC
Bradley, with its wealth of big men up front, had a significant size advantage but were beaten in the paint, 36-22, and beaten in their heads. The Braves were shooting over 50% from the field at one point and had a 20-12 lead in the first half. But it came apart.
"I could sense when we were up (20-12) we kind of came out and played busted, didn't talk, gave up baskets, took bad shots," Wardle said. "You could tell mentally our focus was just gone. And then it was all downhill from there, to be honest. We didn't respond and Rienk (Mast) got two fouls.
"We struggled. Struggled with leadership, struggled to get out of our own heads."
Mast was whistled for two early fouls and sat out 14 minutes of the first half. He returned in the second half but finished the night with just three points on 1-of-7 shooting and one rebound in 22 minutes.
Mast and starting guards Duke Deen and Connor Hickman were a combined 4-of-27 from the field for 15 points.
"Our three leading scorers did not do very well tonight, and that's hard to win on the road," Wardle said. "Somehow our defense kept us hanging around, hanging around, even though we weren't playing well.
"And Murray State, give them credit, they were the tougher team. They got to the ball quicker, they wanted it more in certain situations."
Zek Montgomery was good
Bradley starting wing Zek Montgomery had a team-high 11 points, added four rebounds and made 3 of 5 from 3-point range on a night when the team shot 7-of-26 from beyond the arc.
The Louisville native's mother, Erica, and his grandmother were both in the grandstand watching him.
They saw him hit a 3, coming off a timeout with 11:14 left in the first half, that gave Bradley an eight-point lead and seemed to have the team positioned for a big night.
"I just think they out-toughed us after that," Montgomery said. "We didn't do what we were supposed to. We don't have the same focus on road games that we have at home. That has to change. We got to be better prepared, because we definitely have to win games on the road."
Murray State put together a 17-3 run over 3:43, to take a 29-23 lead capped by a layup on the run by JaCobi Wood and a 3 from Quincy Anderson off Bradley's eighth turnover.
"Our preparation has to be better as a team," Montgomery said. "We came in at halftime thinking we were going to get back in the game and win it. But it didn't work out that way.
"We needed to come together more as a team. Our energy wavered at times. We got to learn from what just happened. We just don't play Bradley basketball in these road games. That's something we gotta fix right now."
How it happened
The Braves had nine turnovers at the half and were out-rebounded 16-12. A bigger surprise was points in the paint, where the small Murray State lineup built a 20-10 lead.
Bradley cycled through 11 players on the court in the first half.
Mast returned to the lineup to open the second half, and Bradley clawed back to 42-38 on a second-chance tip-in by Ville Tahvanainen with 13:41 left.
Darius Hannah hit a turnaround jumper from the left wing to bring the Braves within 42-40 on a 7-0 run over 4:06 with 11:22 left in the game.
Henry powered to the rim for a layup and-1 to pull the Braves within 46-45 at 9:07 left.
Henry drove in the paint again at 8:26 left and was whistled for an offensive foul. Wardle objected to the call and drew a technical. Rob Perry hit both free throws and the Racers had a 50-45 lead.
Murray State tacked on a 9-1 run over the next 2:02 and put Bradley down by 13 with 5:05 left in the game.
Bradley got it back down to five points with under a minute to play but could get no closer.
The Braves shot 34.5% from the field, were out-rebounded 39-36 and beaten in the paint, 36-22.
"We couldn't make a post shot, we got driven too much," Wardle said. "We could not score around the rim. We missed some 3s. We got out-toughed and beat to 50/50s consistently.
"We got in our heads and couldn't get out. I need to coach that aspect better and get them mentally tougher for road games so we can shoot the ball better. Our offense killed us at times because we couldn't score consistently."
The launch of a college career
A footnote in the game arrived with the Braves down by six with 2:32 left in the first half.
Wardle sent in newly-arrived 7-foot-1 center Ahmet Jonovic for his college debut, and he played that final 2:32 of the half. He didn't register anything statistically, but he was certainly noticeable on the floor.
In the huddle
• Wardle, on the team's 2-6 road record: "We have to make some shots on the road. That's where the mental toughness has to be during the game. You have to believe in yourself, be confident, no matter how the game is flowing and how it's going against you, that you can make the next shot. We struggled with that."
Bravely Speaking
Bradley is 10-6 overall and 3-2 in the Valley. Murray State is 9-6 (4-1). … The Braves are fifth in the Valley race. Drake, picked in preseason to finish first in the Valley to Bradley's second, lost at Southern Illinois 53-49 on Wednesday and is now 2-3 in the conference. … Indiana State remains 5-0 in the Valley top spot. … Bradley is 7-8 all-time against Murray State. … The Braves lost for just the third time in 10 outings since center Rienk Mast returned from a knee injury. … Bradley forward Ja'Shon Henry had 10 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes. … BU forward Malevy Leons and guard Duke Deen each had nine points, and Leons grabbed eight rebounds. … Murray State got a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds from forward DJ Burns. … Racers guards Rob Perry, JaCobi Wood and Brian Moore Jr. each had 10 points. … Bradley returns home on Saturday for a 2 p.m. game against Valparaiso.
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: Murray State 67, Bradley 58
Bradley slips down 10
8:35 p.m.: Racers back on a run, 9-0, over last 2:30 to punch out a 55-45 lead with 6:12 left in the game. Bradley takes a timeout. Bradley getting beaten inside 34-18 on points in the paint.
Wardle hit with a technical
8:28 p.m.: Braves forward Ja'Shon Henry powers to the rim for a layup and-1 to pull the Braves within 46-45 at 9:07 left.
Henry drove in the paint again at 8:26 and was whistled for an offensive foul. Bradley head coach Brian Wardle objected to the call and drew a technical.
Rob Perry hit both free throws and the Racers had a 50-45 lead.
The Braves stopped the followup possession as the under 8 media break arrives.
Braves down 2 as midway point of 2nd half approaches
8:15 p.m.: Darius Hannah hit a turnaround jumper from the left wing to bring the Braves within 42-40 on a 7-0 run over 4:06 with 11:22 left in the game.
Mast returns, Bradley pushing
8:05 p.m.: Mast returned to the lineup to open the second half, and Bradley clawed back to 42-38 on a second-chance tip-in by Ville Tahvanainen with 13:41 left.
HALFTIME: Murray State 34, Bradley 27
7:45 p.m.: Bradley went to the half down 34-27. They played nearly the entire half without star center Rienk Mast, who had two early fouls and sat down.
Zek Montgomery had a team-high 8 points at the break.
The Braves had nine turnovers at the half and were out-rebounded 16-12. A bigger surprise was points in the paint, where the small Murray State lineup built a 20-10 lead.
Burns led Murray State with eight points and four rebounds.
Here comes Ahmet Jonovic
7:40 p.m.: The Braves send out newly-arrived 7-foot-1 center Ahmet Jonovic for his college debut with 2:38 left and down 6. Murray State immediately puts 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward DJ Burns into the game against him, and they played out the rest of the half.
Racers on 17-3 run
7:30 p.m.: The Racers ran off six straight points over the next 1:55 to close to within 20-18 in a sequence that saw BU center Rienk Mast absorb two fouls and forward Ja'Shon Henry with an offensive foul.
BU point guard Duke Deen hit a 3 for 23-18 lead at 7:47.
But the Racers ran off six straight points again on layups from Brian Moore Jr. and Quincy Anderson and two free throws by DJ Burns to take their first lead, 24-23, at 5:51 left.
They continued on, answering that Montgomery 3 with a 17-3 run over 7:10, capped by a layup on the run by JaCobi Wood and a 3 from Quincy Anderson off Bradley's eighth turnover.
Bradley responds for 8-point lead
7:23 p.m.: Bradley comes off the timeout with a run to a 20-12 lead off a 3 from Zek Montgomery with 11:14 left.
Braves bigs are short on rebounds
7:21 p.m.: Ja'Shon Henry gave the Braves a 13-7 lead with a layup off a turnover, and Darius Hannah added a pair of free throws for 15-10.
But Murray State got a 3 from Rob Perry and a second-chance layup from Sam Murray to cut it to 15-12 and force a Bradley timeout with 12:44 left.
The Braves, despite a big height advantage, was out-rebounded 8-3 -- including five offensive rebounds -- to set up that timeout by head coach Brian Wardle, who seemed animated as his team huddled.
Big advantage in size
7:14 p.m.: Braves trying to work inside against a Murray State team that has four guards on the floor and is without 6-foot-8 forward Jamari Smith, who is out of the game with a food-related illness.
Early lead for BU
7:10 p.m.: Braves open a 10-7 lead heading into the under-16 media break.
Malevy Leons with a layup and a dunk to open the game with four unanswered points.
Rienk Mast hits a 3. Coming off the break, Connor Hickman was at the free throw line but missed both chances.
Starting lineups
7 p.m.: Braves stick with their usual starting group in guards Connor Hickman and Duke Deen, forwards Malevy Leons, Rienk Mast and wing Zek Montgomery.
Murray State comes out with guards Rob Perry, Quincy Anderson and JaCobi Wood and forwards Kenny White Jr. and DJ Burns.
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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Road woes: How Bradley's size came up short in loss at Murray State
