PEORIA, Ill. - With visiting Wofford looking to take the lead in the closing seconds, Bradley junior guard Andrew Warren came up with a clutch steal and scored on a two-handed, breakaway slam for the deciding points with 4.2 seconds remaining, lifting Bradley (2-1) to a 56-54 victory against the Terriers (2-2) in the first round of the HoopTV Las Vegas Invitational Sunday night at Carver Arena.
Warren's play helped Bradley secure its 300th all-time win at Carver Arena, where the Braves have played their home games since the start of the 1982-83 season and now own a 300-94 (.761) record. Bradley also improved to 36-2 (.947) all-time in November games at Carver Arena with their 17th consecutive November home win.
Ironically, the last team to beat Bradley on its home floor in November was Wofford's Southern Conference rival Chattanooga on Nov. 30, 2002. The Terriers, who led by eight points late in the second half of a season-opening loss at Pittsburgh and knocked off Georgia on the road Tuesday night, nearly made it two straight wins on Bradley's home floor for the SoCon by battling back from a 13-point deficit with 11:54 remaining.
Both teams suffered through a cold-shooting first half and the Terriers took a 22-20 lead into the break. Bradley came out strong to start the second half, however, and used a 16-3 run in less than five minutes to build a 40-27 lead with 11:54 remaining.
Still trailing 48-36 after an Eddren McCain free throw line jumper with 7:26 left, Wofford quickly got back in the game and closed to within one point on three occasions. Bradley answered the first two challenges, taking a 52-49 lead on a Roberts putback basket with 2:49 left. Junior guard Sam Maniscalco then hit a 16-foot jumper for a 54-51 lead with 1:27 left.
After Dahlman scored inside with just under a minute remaining to pull the Terriers within 54-53, Bradley missed on two attempts and Wofford rebounded with 19 seconds left. Wofford attempted to play for the last shot without calling a timeout, but when Jason Dawson picked up his dribble on the right wing, Warren stepped into the passing lane, tipped away the pass toward the top of the key and raced to the other end for the breakaway slam.
Playing in his first game of the season, Bradley sophomore forward Taylor Brown led all players with a career-best 16 rebounds. Senior guard Chris Roberts added 13 points for the Braves and hit Bradley's first 3-pointer of the night with 14:22 left in the game to end an 0-for-11 long-range start for the Braves. Junior Salters led Wofford with 15 points and Noah Dahlman added 11 pionts and a team-leading six rebounds.
Outrebounded by double-digit margins in the first two games, Bradley made that a focal point during the week-long break between games. Roberts equaled his career-best with a game-high nine rebounds, while Brown (8) and junior guard Sam Maniscalco (7) both hauled down career-best rebound totals. The effort helped Bradley to a 40-33 rebounding margin.
After making only 9-of-28 (.321) field goal attempts in the first half, the Braves heated up after the break and made 16-of-32 (.500) in the final 20 minutes to finish the game at 41.7 percent from the field. Wofford warmed only marginally in the second half, improving from 8-for-27 (.296) in the first half to 9-for-24 (.375) in the second stanza to finish at 33.3 percent from the floor.
Bradley will return to action Tuesday night by hosting Presbyterian in a 7:05 p.m. game at Carver Arena in the second round of the HoopTV Las Vegas Invitational. The final two rounds will be played at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Nov. 27 versus Oklahoma State and Nov. 28 against either Illinois or Utah.
