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ST. LOUIS — The Bradley Braves fought tooth and nails to survive a game against Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Friday at Enterprise Center.
Valpo's tooth. Bradley's nails.
The Braves stayed alive with clutch 3s from Alex Huibregtse, a battering ram performance by 7-foot-1, 255-pound Ahmet Jonovic and fierce, emotional finishing touches from Jaquan Johnson to emerge with a 90-84 double-overtime victory and escape an upset bid by the Beacons.
This, on a day of upsets when No. 9 Drake knocked No. 1 Belmont out of the tournament and No. 4 Murray State bowed out to No. 5 UIC, leaving the road to an NCAA automatic bid wide open.
"We had three wars with them (this season), we knew what we were in for," Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said. "It's survive and advance. Alex, Quani, Meta all three of these guys made a big shot, a big play, big moments. Montana Wheeler was huge, A.J. Smith played big for us in the closing minutes. It was a battle from start to finish."
Valparaiso's Rakim Chaney was limited to less than 9 minutes when he left the game with a suspected concussion after taking an inadvertent blow to the face from Wheeler's hand.
Jonovic was super-aggressive with the ball, barrelling through the paint and crashing into opponents, sacrificing his body. On one such drive with 3:11 left in the first overtime, Jonovic knocked out Valparaiso big man Shon Tupuola's tooth. With the game tied at 67-67, a Valpo teammate went to the paint area and picked up the tooth.
It was all part of a white-knuckle ride for the Braves.
With 69 seconds left in regulation, Bradley held a 64-58 lead. But Valparaiso got a 3-pointer from Brody Whitaker with 57 seconds left to cut it to 64-61.
Johnson missed a driving layup, Valpo swept away the rebound and Justus McNair buried a 3 with 23 seconds left. Tie game, 64-64.
Johnson tried for a buzzer beater jumper but it was no good.
The drama continued in the first overtime, when Whitaker hit another 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to put the Beacons ahead, 73-70.
But Huibregtse stepped up and nailed a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to save Bradley's season and force a second overtime.
Valpo tried to steal it at the buzzer but Whitaker's layup was no good and a tip-in off a rebound failed as well. On they went to a second overtime, 73-73.
In that second overtime, the Braves took an 80-76 lead when Smith converted on a layup and-1 with 1:47 left.
Johnson then stripped the ball from Owen Dease and took off for a breakaway layup, pushing the large Bradley contingent in the grandstand into a frenzy as the lead opened to 82-76 with 1:28 left.
Bradley closed it out at the free throw line, as Jonovic, Huibregtse, Johnson, Smith and Wheeler made eight of them in the last 67 seconds.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: MVC Tournament 2026: Bradley Braves survive Valparaiso at Arch Madness
Continue reading...
Valpo's tooth. Bradley's nails.
The Braves stayed alive with clutch 3s from Alex Huibregtse, a battering ram performance by 7-foot-1, 255-pound Ahmet Jonovic and fierce, emotional finishing touches from Jaquan Johnson to emerge with a 90-84 double-overtime victory and escape an upset bid by the Beacons.
This, on a day of upsets when No. 9 Drake knocked No. 1 Belmont out of the tournament and No. 4 Murray State bowed out to No. 5 UIC, leaving the road to an NCAA automatic bid wide open.
"We had three wars with them (this season), we knew what we were in for," Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said. "It's survive and advance. Alex, Quani, Meta all three of these guys made a big shot, a big play, big moments. Montana Wheeler was huge, A.J. Smith played big for us in the closing minutes. It was a battle from start to finish."
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Valparaiso's Rakim Chaney was limited to less than 9 minutes when he left the game with a suspected concussion after taking an inadvertent blow to the face from Wheeler's hand.
Jonovic was super-aggressive with the ball, barrelling through the paint and crashing into opponents, sacrificing his body. On one such drive with 3:11 left in the first overtime, Jonovic knocked out Valparaiso big man Shon Tupuola's tooth. With the game tied at 67-67, a Valpo teammate went to the paint area and picked up the tooth.
It was all part of a white-knuckle ride for the Braves.
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With 69 seconds left in regulation, Bradley held a 64-58 lead. But Valparaiso got a 3-pointer from Brody Whitaker with 57 seconds left to cut it to 64-61.
Johnson missed a driving layup, Valpo swept away the rebound and Justus McNair buried a 3 with 23 seconds left. Tie game, 64-64.
Johnson tried for a buzzer beater jumper but it was no good.
The drama continued in the first overtime, when Whitaker hit another 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to put the Beacons ahead, 73-70.
But Huibregtse stepped up and nailed a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to save Bradley's season and force a second overtime.
You must be registered for see images attach
Valpo tried to steal it at the buzzer but Whitaker's layup was no good and a tip-in off a rebound failed as well. On they went to a second overtime, 73-73.
In that second overtime, the Braves took an 80-76 lead when Smith converted on a layup and-1 with 1:47 left.
Johnson then stripped the ball from Owen Dease and took off for a breakaway layup, pushing the large Bradley contingent in the grandstand into a frenzy as the lead opened to 82-76 with 1:28 left.
Bradley closed it out at the free throw line, as Jonovic, Huibregtse, Johnson, Smith and Wheeler made eight of them in the last 67 seconds.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: MVC Tournament 2026: Bradley Braves survive Valparaiso at Arch Madness
Continue reading...
