Braves Come up Empty in Missouri but Bigger Issues Loom Large

 Momentum going into this weekends series on the road against Missouri State was very high, the Braves were coming off their first win in almost a month and it came it blowout fashion. But that momentum was gone before the game even started when it was announced via Twitter that 4 Bradley men's basketball players would be suspended for the weekend series due to violations of program standards. That forced Head Coach Brian Wardle to insert Freshman Darrius Hannah and Jayson Kent into the starting lineup for the first time in their collegiate careers. Down their best 3 scorers and their best on-ball defender Bradley did everything they could to make this a competitive game, including starting the game on a 7-0 thanks to a pair of baskets from Rienk Mast and a layup from Kevin McAdoo. Missouri State followed a very slow first 6 minutes, in which the game was tied 9-9, with a 10-0 run that really got them in a nice flow offensively. Once the Bears got going on offense there was very little Bradley was able to do, every time they got in back within single digits Missouri State would go on a run that would push the deficit back into double figures. The Braves went into halftime trailing 44-24 and were led by Ville Tahvanainen and Rienk Mast who both had 5 points apiece. Missouri State had one of the most efficient offensive halves you will see out of a team in college basketball this season, shooting 17-23 from the field and a staggering 7-10 from beyond the arc. Ja'Monta Black poured in 15 first half points, including 4-5 from deep, and Gaige Prim added another 14 to pace Missouri State. The second half was more of the same for the Braves, any time they got something going offensively Missouri State would make shots and strengthen their hold on the game. There were a few lone bright spots for the Braves on the afternoon; Darius Hannah scored 10 points in the second half and Junior Guard Sean East II made his return from a leave of absence and scored 8 points. Ja'Monta Black would finish with a game win 24 points as Missouri State would roll to a 80-58 victory. 

The second game started off in the best way possible for Bradley; low scoring slug it out basketball. Both teams traded baskets and went into the under 16:00 media timeout knotted at 7-7. After 5 straight points from Rienk Mast Bradley would find themselves with an early 14-12 advantage. But Missouri State would respond with a 10-0 run orchestrated by Isiaih Mosley and Jared Ritter to give them the biggest lead of the half up to that point. There would be no quit in these Braves though who would go on their own 10-0 run culminated by a Kevin McAdoo jumper that put Bradley up 24-22 with 7:18 left in the first half. The momentum shifted after that basket as Bradley would get outscored 17-5 the rest of the first half and would find themselves down double digits yet again at halftime, trailing 39-29. Sean East II and Rienk Mast both scored 8 points for the Bradley and Ville Tahvanainen chipped in with 7. Missouri State was led by the hot shooting of Isiaih Mosley, who was 4-4 from 3 en route to a game high 18 first half points. After Missouri State started out the second half with a Ja'Monta Black 3-pointer to go up by 13 Bradley scored baskets on back-to-back possessions to make it 42-33 with 17:05 left to play. After Rienk Mast hit a 3 right before the under 16 minute media timeout to drop Missouri State's lead back down to 10, the Bears continued their great work from the first half and continued to stack together quality possessions and quickly took control of this game. Bradley would never get their deficit back within single digits and after Isiaih Mosley hit a triple to put the Bears up 64-45 with 7:24, the game was slipping away from the Braves. A Ja'Monta Black steal that led to him hitting his second 3-pointer of the half put Missouri State back up by 19 and was the nail in the coffin. The final score from Springfield, Missouri was 72-57 due largely to 27 points from Isiaih Mosley and another 20 from Gaige Prim. Three players scored in double figures for Bradley which was highlighted by a 15 point-11 rebound double-double for Redshirt Freshman Rienk Mast. The weekend sweep improves Missouri State to 14-5 overall and 10-5 in the Valley. Bradley falls to 11-13 and 5-10 in Valley play. Getting those suspended players back for the remaining 3 games of the season is going to be crucial for the Braves as Arch Madness looms in the near future.