SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Bradley senior guard Sam Maniscalco (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick H.S.) sank three free throws with 0.3 seconds remaining and the Braves (4-0) pulled off a late second half rally for the third consecutive game, downing Southern California (2-2), 64-63, in the third round of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament Saturday evening at the MassMutual Center.
Maniscalco, who also buried a 3-pointer with 58.6 seconds remaining to give the Braves a 61-59 lead, led Bradley with a season-high 17 points. His senior backcourt mate Andrew Warren (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) chipped in with 14 points and reserve freshman guard Walt Lemon Jr. (Chicago, Ill./Julian H.S.) sparked the second half rally by scoring 10 of his 13 points after the break. USC forward Nikola Vuvevic led four Trojans in double-figures with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Bryce Jones scored 13 points, while Garrett Jackson and Donte Smith both scored 12 off the bench.
By rallying from a 54-46 deficit with 5:44 remaining, Bradley improved to 4-0 for the first time since the 2006-07 Braves started 5-0 en route to a 22-13 campaign and just the second time since current head coach Jim Les led the 1985-86 Braves to a 9-0 start as a senior point guard.
Lemon Jr., who finished the game 5-for-5 from the field and made his first three career 3-pointers, started the closing rally by draining a transition trey with 4:33 remaining to pull Bradley within 54-49. Warren answered a Vucevic jumper with two free throws with 3:35 to go and Bradley trimmed the deficit to 56-54 on one of Maniscalco's four triples with 2:52 remaining.
Smith pushed the USC lead back to five, 59-54, by countering Maniscalco with a 3-pointer of his own, but Bradley center Will Egolf and Warren started a 7-0 Bradley run by each making two free throws, Warren's with 1:30 left to get Bradley within 59-58.
After Warren drew a charge on USC forward Marcus Simmons, with 1:10 left, Maniscalco gave the Braves their first lead since they held a 12-11 margin with 12 minutes remaining in the first half by draining his fourth 3-pointer from left of the top of the key.
The game took a dramatic turn when Vucevic was fouled with 39 seconds left and the Bradley bench was hit with a technical foul on the play. Vucevic made all four free throws for a 63-61 lead, but after a Bradley turnover, the Trojans big man missed on both ends of another trip to the line with 11 seconds remaining, setting up the final sequence.
With the clock winding down, Maniscalco caught a pass from Dunson left of the top of the key and made a one-footed jump toward the basket for a final shot. Simmons was called for a foul as the horn sounded, and after reviewing both Maniscalco's launch point and the time remaining, the Bradley guard was awarded the three free throws with 0.3 seconds remaining.
Bradley will conclude its four-game week by taking on TCU (2-1) in a 5 p.m. (EST) contest Sunday at the MassMutual Center.
