PEORIA, Ill. ? Senior point guard Daniel Ruffin (Peoria, Ill./Central) missed the Bradley's Missouri Valley Conference opener and the Braves (7-6, 0-1 MVC) struggled in his absence, falling to visiting Northern Iowa (9-3, 1-0 MVC), 59-46, Saturday afternoon at Carver Arena.
Bradley announced before the game that Ruffin would be out indefinitely after having outpatient surgery Friday in New Jersey to repair a sports hernia. The 5-foot-10 point guard is the nation's active leader with 549 career assists and he began the day as the only active player in the country with 1,000 career points (1,042) and 500 assists.
The Braves got off to a rough start, shooting just 16.7 percent from the field in the first half and trailed 25-9 at the break. The nine points scored in the first half was the lowest scoring half for for any team in the 26-year history of Carver Arena.
UNI scored the first basket of the second half, but Bradley countered with an 18-5 run that cut the deficit to five points (32-27) with just over 13 minutes to play. Senior guard Jeremy Crouch (Pekin, Ill./Pekin Community) scored all nine of his points during the stretch, nailing a pair of three-pointers and converting a three-point play. Junior Theron Wilson (Topeka, Kan./Highland Park/Seward County C.C.) capped the Braves run with a three-point play.
Bradley would go scoreless for the next 4:43 of play, however, allowing UNI to push its lead back to double digits at 40-27 with just over eight minutes remaining. The Braves would pull to within eight points with 4:54 to play after a Sam Maniscalco (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) three-pointer, but Eric Coleman would score eight of his game-high 17 points in the closing minutes to help UNI hold off Bradley down the stretch.
The Braves committed a season-low 10 turnovers, but shot 31.5 percent from the field, which included 6-of-29 from three-point range (20.7 percent). UNI shot 52.9 percent in the second half and dominated the glass, outrebounding Bradley 45-27.
Bradley's 46 points were the fewest for the Braves in a game at Carver Arena and the lowest scoring output in a contest since suffering a 59-46 loss to Southern Illinois in the championship game of the 2006 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship.
Maniscalco made his first career start in place of Ruffin and scored a season-best 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He also added two steals in 38 minutes of action. Crouch and sophomore Andrew Warren (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit) each added nine points and four rebounds.
Coleman led all players with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds off the bench for Northern Iowa. He also had three assists, one blocked shot and two steals. Senior Jared Josten added 16 points as the duo combined for 24 of UNI's 34 points in the second half.
Bradley returns to action Wednesday at Missouri State at 7:05 p.m. in a game that will be televised locally by Insight Communications.
