Indiana State men’s basketball fell in the first game of 2025 to the Bradley Braves, 90-89, in overtime. Indiana State fell to 8-6, 2-1 MVC and Bradley improved to 12-2, 3-0 MVC.
Bradley converted four free throws on one-and-one opportunities to take an 80-74 lead with 2:15 to play setting the stage for the final heroics in regulation and overtime.
Indiana State’s defense started the late comeback over the final two minutes sparked by Bruno Alocen’s tipped pass led to Teel getting fouled and knocking in a pair of free throws. Bradley called a timeout with 1:27 remaining with the ball and the lead, 80-77. Bradley made a short jumper in the possession to go up 82-77.
In the Sycamores’ possession, Alocen drove to the lane and got fouled in the process. The freshman made both at the line to trail 82-79 with 46 seconds remaining.
The Sycamore defense forced the Braves to take a tough three-pointer contested by Wagner, and the shot was off the mark.
Down three with the game on the line, Wagner drilled his fifth three-pointer of the game with a Bradley defender in his face with 11 seconds before the buzzer. The triple tied the ballgame at 82 apiece and, and Bradley’s Duke Deen’s last-second effort was off the mark, the game went to overtime.
The Sycamores opened the overtime period with a quick 5-0 run. Daughtry made a layup after an offensive board and made a free throw in the next trip, followed by Teel laying one in off the backboard with 3:18 left in the game. This forced a Bradley timeout.
With just under 80 seconds to play, Bradley made two free throws to cut the deficit 89-86. Two missed field goals by the Sycamores in their possession was followed by another pair of Bradley free throws for the Sycamores to lead by one, 89-88.
A turnover by Indiana State proved costly as Bradley made a layup with three seconds to play. The last second-second shot by Indiana State was no good, giving Bradley the 90-89 win in overtime.
It was a low-scoring start to the game, with Bradley draining a three-pointer right in front of the Sycamore bench. No other points were scored until Bruco Alocen splashed a left-wing three to get Indiana State on the board 3:13 into the ball game.
Two Camp Wagner free throws and a jumper by Bradley knotted the game at five headed into the first media timeout with 14:54 to play. Both teams combined for 3-for-15 shooting in the game (Indiana State 1-for-7, Bradley 2-for-8).
K’mani Doughty made a left-corner three off a kickout pass from Jaden Daughtry to go up 8-5. Daughtry made the next four points for Indiana State with two layups at the rim with a basket and free throw in the middle by Bradley.
Bradley took a 13-12 lead in the next 65 seconds, but Doughty made a pair of free throws to regain the lead. At the media timeout at 7:48, Bradley held an 18-14 advantage increasing their shooting performance up to 40% while Indiana State was shooting 28.6% (4-for-14, 2-for-11 from three).
Following the Doughty free throws, Bradley outscored the Sycamores 11-5 to take a 24-19 lead. Josiah LeGree drove the lane and kicked it to Doughty to the right corner who knocked down the three-pointer to make the game a one-possession game. After a layup by Bradley, Wagner drained a triple just above the left corner to bring the Sycamores down 26-25.
Bradley made a jumper with 3:04 remaining in the first half, but Daughtry secured an offensive rebound and put it back in for the game’s seventh lead change and his seventh and eighth points. Indiana State held a 29-28 lead with 2:09 to play.
Wagner put the Sycamore crowd on their feet by draining a deep three-pointer with 42 seconds left in the half, his third of the game and 12th and 13th points of the game. Bradley committed a turnover and the Sycamores missed the shot at the buzzer, but Indiana State was on top 34-30 headed into the locker room.
Zek Montgomery scored the first seven points for Bradley in the second half with another basket coming from Burch, and Alocen made the only field goal for Indiana State through the first media timeout at 15:52. Doughty knocked down two free throws in the stretch, but the game was tied at 39 apiece.
Indiana State started slow again in the second half going 1-for-8 from the field, 1-for-7 from deep). Samage Teel got into the scoring column with 14:20 remaining in the game with a driving right-handed layup. That basket counted as his first two points of the game, the latest he has scored in a game this season.
Teel went on to score the next four points for the Sycamores, a total of six straight, all off layups. His third layup tied the game at 45-45 with 12:43 to play. Through this point in the game, Bradley converted on eight of its last 10 field goals.
Daughtry made a layup, to bring the game within four points, 51-47, before Jayan Walker made the crowd the loudest the entire night. Daughtry received the ball off a pick-and-roll and kicked it to the opposite corner to Walker, who shot-faked, took a dribble and drained his first field goal attempt of the game – a three pointer from the right wing.
The next trip down the court, Walker knocked down another three-pointer off the wing in front of his bench to send Hulman Center into a frenzy and take the lead, 53-51, with 10:27 to play.
Wagner made sure to keep the crowd on their feet, making a three-pointer while getting fouled right out of the media timeout, converting the free throw attempt to execute the four-point play.
With just under six minutes to play, LeGree broke away gave Indiana State a 65-61 lead on a fastbreak finger roll layup, but a three-pointer by Bradley quickly brought the game back to a one-point, 65-64 lead in favor of the Sycamores. Another triple by Bradley in the next possession gave the Braves a 67-65 lead with five minutes remaining.
Similar to the last media timeout, the Sycamores scored in the first possession with a Daughtry and-one to tie the game at 70-70.
After a Teel layup and a Bradley three-pointer at the 3:15 mark, Indiana State made eight of its previous eight shots, and Bradley nearly matched by making five of their last six. Bradley led 76-72.
Camp Wagner led the Sycamores in scoring with 20 points on 5-for-10 shooting, all from deep. He also pulled down seven rebounds and finished with no turnovers in 34:16 minutes on the court. Jaden Daughtry finished with 19 points on 6-for-9 shooing and 7-for-10 from the free throw line. Samage Teel also scored 19 points on 6-for-14 shooting with six rebounds and four assists. K’mani Doughty finished with 14 points, making 8-of-8 from the free throw line, and grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Josiah LeGree led the game with five assists.
News & Notes
- Indiana State fell in back-to-back games for only the second time this season.
- This was the second-straight matchup between Indiana State and Bradley where the game went into overtime (W, 95-86 on January 27, 2024).
- Indiana State has scored 80+ points in eight-straight games.
- Indiana State finished 30-for-36 from the free throw line. The 2023-24 Sycamores in the NIT run last season finished 30-for-35 from the line against SMU on March 20, 2024. It was the most free throw attempts since December 19, 2023 against Tennessee State where the Sycamores attempted 40.
- Indiana State held the Braves to 32.3% from three in the game. Bradley entered the game leading the country in three-point percentage (44.9%). The stout Sycamore defense held the Braves to 22.2% from three (2-for-9) in the first half and 0-for-5 from deep in overtime.
- Indiana State attempted only four shots from inside the arc in the first half: 9-for-26 total, 3-for-4 from two, 6-for-22 from three.
- The Sycamores shot 13-for-20 from inside the arc in the game (65.0%), a slight uptick from the 60.3% season average.
- In the last two games, Indiana State has made 57-of-68 from the free throw line (83.8%).
- Indiana State has finished with more turnovers than the opponent in 10 of the last 11 games (dating back to Ball State) and 11 in the season’s 14 games.
- Zek Montgomery and Duke Deen combined for 31 of the team’s 52 points in the second half (combined 12-for-19 and 5-for-10 from three).
- The largest lead of the game was seven points, held by Indiana State with 2:46 remaining in overtime.
- Camp Wagner’s 20 points set a new career high, and his seven rebounds set a new career high.
- K’mani Doughty tied his career high in rebounds with eight.
- Jaden Daughtry’s four rebounds all came on the offensive glass.
Up Next
Indiana State travels to the University of Evansville to take on the 5-9, 2-1 MVC Purple Aces on Saturday, January 4 at 2 p.m. ET.
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