This Bradley basketball road win had a special milestone tucked away inside

Ja'Shon Henry earned his place in Bradley history, and the Braves earned a place in the top two seeds of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Wednesday.

Henry put in 15 points — his most in a Valley game this season — to help the Braves put away Valparaiso, 76-66, in a league game at The Arc in Valparaiso, Indiana.

That clinched the No. 2 seed in Arch Madness for BU with the final regular-season game coming Sunday against Valley co-leader Drake.

Box score: Bradley 76, Valpo 66 | Preview: BU at Valpo | Standings: MVC

And it also gave Henry 1,005 career points. He is the 51st player in BU history to reach 1,000.

"I'm not going to lie, playing NCAA Div.-I has always been a goal of mine, from my freshman journey to where we are now," Henry said. "It's been a really fun ride — shout out to all my former teammates. They made me the player I am now. My friends, family, teammates made me the man I am today.

"This was pretty special for me."

Henry converted a layup off a fast break for a 49-37 lead with 15:37 left in the second half to reach the 1,000 mark.

"We knew going into this game he was going to get it," said Mast, who has been alongside Henry for most of those points. "We were going to make sure. It was a big moment in Bradley history and awesome to be part of it. J-Hen deserves this, he earned it, and we're all happy for him."

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Said Bradley coach Brian Wardle: "I was hoping he could get that 1,000 tonight, check that box. I think he's really happy that it happened with this group, this year. He is very close to these guys. Just happy for him, proud of him, and I know the team after the game was very excited for him."

Streaks and seed position

Bradley continued to add to a number of superlatives this season. This victory:

• is BU's eighth true road win of the season, most since the 1987-88 team under Stan Albeck.

• is BU's ninth straight game in the Valley, tied with the 1959-60 team for their third-longest streak ever.

• is BU's 15th MVC win of the season, matching the 1995-96 team for second-most league wins in team history.

• is BU's sixth straight road win, tying the 1963-64 team for sixth-longest in BU history.

• clinches a top-two seed for the MVC tournament, important because any team outside the top four this season will have to play — and win — four games in four nights to get to the NCAA tourney.

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"You want to be top four, I've been saying that all year," Wardle said. "We've been fortunate to have the bye in the past. Now we're going to close against a very old, very good Drake team.

"This group is very focused to lay it all on the line Sunday."

Bradley and Drake will match up as 15-4 teams Sunday, in a winner-take-all game for the Valley title.

"If we focus on details in the game plan, apply that One More mentality, we're going to be alright," Henry said.

"We know we have to get our bodies ready for a dogfight," Mast said. "It's going to be a good one."

How it happened

The Braves started with a 9-2 deficit as Valpo was excited on its senior night.

But Malevy Leons grabbed a rebound, fought it back up against a double-team and was fouled for 9-7 and the Braves kept going, delivering an 8-0 run to a 10-9 lead.

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The Braves then posted a 9-0 run to a 23-18 lead over 2:36 when Zek Montgomery hit a 3 midway through the half, then guard Duke Deen put down a second-chance jumper, Connor Hickman had a driving layup and Ja'Shon Henry had a second-chance dunk.

"I think we had it contained well, were able to make some big plays," Mast said.

Mast, in his battle with fellow MVC big man and player of the year candidate Ben Krikke, finished with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting and nine rebounds with a plus-4 rating. Krikke had 17 points and six rebounds and a minus-6 plus-minus rating.

In the huddle

• Bradley coach Brian Wardle: "I'm proud of our effort. It was kind of a weird day, our shootaround was canceled and the shot clocks were on the floor instead of above the rim. But our bench was huge, we won the paint war, the turnover war."

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Bradley Red Out and Drake tickets

The Bradley ticket office at Renaissance Coliseum will be open for extended hours on Thursday (8 a.m.-8 p.m.) for those looking for tickets for Sunday's finale against Drake.

The Braves have declared the regular-season finale against Drake, a national TV game in Carver Arena on Sunday, as a red-out theme for their fans. The team has introduced a red version of throwback script uniforms, and they debuted them Wednesday at Valpo.

Bravely Speaking

Bradley is 22-8 overall, 15-4 in the Valley. … Valparaiso slipped to 11-19 (5-14). … Bradley and Drake go into the final regular-season game tied for first in the Valley at 15-4. Southern Illinois, Belmont and Indiana State are tied at 13-6, and one of those teams is going to end up fifth and facing four games in four nights at Arch Madness. … Malevy Leons goes into the final regular-season game against Drake with 47 steals and 48 blocks as he tries to become the first player in MVC history to record a 50-50 season. … Connor Hickman had nine points, while Leons had eight points and six boards. … The Braves won the rebound battle, 37-28. … Bradley out-scored Valpo 25-6 in points off turnovers and 34-15 in bench points. … Valpo's Quinton Green had 16 points and seven rebounds. … Belmont star Ben Sheppard made two free throws with 2 seconds left to beat Indiana State, 89-88 on Wednesday. Belmont is the fifth Valley team to reach the 20-win level.

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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 76, Valparaiso 66

Bradley 60, Valparaiso 46

7:28 p.m.: Bradley maintaining a 10-point lead midway through the second half

Ville Tahvanainen with a pair of 3s to keep Bradley in control. He has 10 off the bench. Braves with 19-4 lead in points off turnovers.

HALFTIME: Bradley 42, Valpo 30

6:48 p.m.: The Braves get 12 points and 7 rebounds from Rienk Mast in his matchup against Valparaiso center Ben Krikke, who has 10 points and 3 rebounds.

Bradley fifth-year forward Ja'Shon Henry on the bring of history. His 8 first-half points put him at 998 career points. He needs 2 more tonight to become the 51st player to join Bradley's 1,000 club.

Braves with another run

6:30 p.m.: The Braves went on an 9-0 run to a 23-18 lead over 2:36 when Zek Montgomery hit a 3 midway through the half, then guard Duke Deen put down a second-chance jumper, Connor Hickman had a driving layup and Ja'Shon Henry had a second-chance dunk.

A Bradley run

6:15 p.m.: Bradley tumbles out of the gate with a 9-2 deficit, but recovers on an 8-0 run for the lead, including an and-1 when Malevy Leons grabbed a rebound, fought it back up against a double-team and was fouled.

Starting lineups

6 p.m.: Bradley starters Duke Deen and Connor Hickman, forward Malevy Leons, center Rienk Mast and win Zek Montgomery, are on the floor.

Valpo starts center Ben Krikke and four guards -- Nick Edwards, Quinton Green, Luke Morrill and Kobe King.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley basketball road win had a special milestone tucked away inside