PEORIA, Ill. - Indiana State knocked down 16 3-pointers, but Bradley was an equally impressive 13-for-26 from beyond the arc and junior guard Sam Maniscalco (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) scored seven of his season-high 21 points in overtime to help the Braves to a 91-85 victory against the Sycamores at Carver Arena Wednesday. Junior guard Andrew Warren (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) added a career-best 26 points for Bradley.
The victory snapped a three-game home losing streak for Bradley, which evened its record at 7-7 overall and 2-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play. Indiana State fell to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in league action as Bradley claimed its 12th consecutive home victory in the series with the Sycamores.
Both teams had chances to end the game late in regulation. Bradley trailed 76-75 with 16.9 seconds left when Chris Roberts split a pair of free throws to tie the score at 76-76. Indiana State came up empty on its next possession as Harry Marshall was whistled for a travel with 0.9 seconds left in regulation, and the Warren's desperation half-court heave at the buzzer fell short to set up the extra session.
Maniscalco gave the Braves the lead for good, 83-80, with a triple midway through the overtime period. Marshall made a spinning shot in the lane to cut BU's lead to 83-82 with 2:01 remaining, but neither team scored again until sophomore forward Taylor Brown hit the final three-pointer of the night with 53.2 seconds to play, pushing the Bradley advantage to 86-82. Maniscalco came up with a steal and made one free throw to extend the lead to 87-82 and an Indiana State miss on the next possession forced the Sycamores to foul.
The Braves made 6-of-8 3-point attempts in the final 6:04 of the first half, capped by Maniscalco's halftime buzzer-beater to end a 20-4 Bradley run that gave the home squad a 45-29 bulge at the break. Bradley committed just one turnover in the first 20 minutes of play and finished the opening half 8-for-12 from three-point range.
The Braves went cold to start the second half, though, missing 13 of their first 15 field goal attempts while scoring just 10 points in the first 11:30 minutes of the half Indiana State took advantage with a 30-10 run. The Sycamores did the bulk of the damage from beyond the arc, opening the second half 7-of-10 from beyond the arc to take a 59-55 lead with 9:38 to play after back-to-back trey's by Aaron Carter.
A Warren jumper and three-pointer following a Sycamore turnover tied the score at 68-68 with 4:10 remaining in regulation. Warren paced four Bradley players in double figures with a career-high 26 points, while Maniscalco added a season-best 21 points. Brown added a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards in 41 minutes of play.
Indiana State's 16 three-pointers were a season-high and the most-ever by a Bradley opponent. Rashad Reed led the Sycamores with 17 points, while Marshall collected 16 points and nine assists to pace Indiana State. Carl Richard notched a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 boards.
Bradley returns to action Saturday in a 2:05 p.m. game at Missouri State. Indiana State will face in-state Valley foe Evansville at 1:35 p.m. (EST) Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind.
