DAYTON, Ohio -- On a night when Bradley's star backcourt duo of Daniel Ruffin and Jeremy Crouch struggled with their shots, sophomore guard Andrew Warren came through with 23 points and junior forward Theron Wilson chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds, leading the Braves (7-3) to a 72-65 overtime victory on the road against defending Horizon League champion Wright State (3-3) Tuesday night at the Ervin J. Nutter Center.
And while Ruffin and Crouch were off offensively, the duo combined for 10 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and some clutch play to help the Braves prevail in their first overtime game of the season. Crouch made two free throws with 19 seconds left in regulation to forge a 58-58 tie and Ruffin buried a deep 3-pointer with 2:24 left in the extra session to give the Braves the lead for good, 63-60. Bradley improved to 8-3 in overtime games in Jim Les' six seasons as the head coach, including 3-1 on the road in extra time.
Warren scored 14 of his team-high 23 points in the first half, helping the Braves overcome a slow start. While the rest of the team combined to make just 6-of-18 field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes, Warren buried all four of his 3-point attempts and was fouled on what would have been his fifth try. He made two of the three resulting free throws with 53 seconds left in the first half to complete a 12-0 Bradley run, which turned a 24-17 deficit with 6:21 remaining in the period into a 29-24 lead. John David Gardner's putback jumper at the buzzer pulled Wright State to within 29-26 at the intermission.
Bradley twice built the lead back up to five points early in the second half, but the Raiders used a 9-0 run to reclaim the lead. Vaughn Duggins, who scored a game-high 24 points, drained a 3-pointer with 8:22 left in regulation to give Wright State a 48-39 lead and Cooper Land hit another trey for the hosts for a 51-42 advantage with 6:28 left to play.
Penetration moves by freshman Sam Maniscalco and Ruffin set up David Collins and Wilson for easy baskets on Bradley's next two possessions and Ruffin drained two free throws with 5:09 left to pull Bradley within 51-48. Wilson answered a Duggins 3-pointer with one of his own to again pull the Braves within three, 54-51, with 3:55 left. A little over a minute later, Ruffin came through with one of the game's pivotal plays, creating a steal and converting two free throws after he was fouled in transition to pull Bradley within 54-53 with 2:44 to go.
Wright State appeared to be in good position to earn the win by stretching its lead to two possessions, 57-53, after Gardner sank two free throws with 45 seconds left, but after the Braves kept an offensive rebound alive, Warren drained his fifth 3-pointer of the night with 33 seconds left to get Bradley within 57-56. And after Duggins split two free throws with 31 seconds to go, Crouch sank his two charity shots to force overtime.
Having struggled from the floor most of the night, Bradley made 6-of-9 field goal attempts in the overtime session while pressuring the Raiders into a 2-for-9 effort. While Ruffin gave the Braves the lead for good, Wilson and Sam Singh combined on a 3-point play with 1-minute left to all but seal the win. Ruffin was forced into a difficult baseline shot at the end of the shot clock, but Wilson rebounded the miss and was fouled completing putback dunk. Wilson was stricken by leg cramps after going to the floor on the play, but Singh checked in and made the free throw to give the Braves a 68-63 advantage. The Raiders twice came up empty on the other end and the Braves broke their pressure for a pair of transition baskets by Maniscalco and Warren to put the game away.
Now with road wins against two of the first three Horizon League opponents on their schedule, Bradley will try for a third road win against the neighboring league when the Braves return to action Dec. 19 at nationally-ranked Butler, a 6 p.m. (EST) contest at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
