What happened in Vegas on Saturday night will not stay in Vegas for the Bradley Braves. It will be shouted from the rooftops.
Bradley engineered a stunning upset of No. 20 Illinois 72-68 in the consolation game of the Las Vegas Invitational at The Orleans Arena.
It marked Bradley’s first win over Illinois since 1974 after four consecutive losses.
“It was an unbelievable team effort from a number of guys who stepped up,” said BU coach Jim Les. “This was our most consistent effort this year executing for 40 minutes. It could be a signature win for us.”
That may be the understatement of the day.
This may well be a signature win of Les’ eight-year coaching career at Bradley, surpassed only by the Braves’ Sweet 16 run four years ago. Coming against the big brother Illini makes this one oh so sweet.
Guard Sam Maniscalco, the Braves’ lone Illinois starter, hit the final four free throws to seal the win as Bradley closed with an 11-2 burst. At the final buzzer, he did a series of fist bumps in the air.
“There are a lot of different emotions I’m feeling right now,” Maniscalco said. “It’s hard to put into words. We just played tough for 40 minutes, stayed composed and played.”
While the Braves led most of the way, building a nine-point lead with 12:59 left, it was far from easy.
Illinois surged back to take a 66-61 lead by 3:13 and seemed on the verge of finishing off Bradley.
But every Brave on the floor made a huge play in those final minutes to swing the momentum back to BU.
First came Will Egolf’s two baskets -- on a layup and an offensive rebound -- to pull BU back to within 66-65. He would finish with a career highs of 12 points and nine rebounds.
Taylor Brown, named to the all-tournament team, snatched some big rebounds down the stretch.
But it was Andrew Warren, who was so absymal Friday night against Oklahoma State, who saved the day for Bradley.
Within the final minute and the Braves trailing 66-65, Chris Roberts stole the ball for the Braves. With 32 seconds left, Warren took a handoff from Maniscalco, rose and nailed a 24-footer to give Bradley the lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
“Coming off the baseline, I used screens and saw my defender was trailing me,” Warren said. “As soon as I caught the ball, I rose up and shot the ball with confidence. That’s all that happened. I just made a confident play.”
Maniscalco then sealed it by making 4 of 4 free throws in the final 17.5 seconds.
“I felt pretty cool and composed,” Maniscalco said. “That’s a situation I want to be in there. I used to sit with my brother and watch Frank Williams play at Illinois. I was a big Illinois fan. That kind of went through my mind a little bit that I’m the one shooting the free throws against Illinois.”
Bradley had built a 47-38 cushion at 12:59 on Brown’s 3-point play off a Dyricus Simms-Edwards steal, sending the hundreds of red-clad BU fans into a frenzy.
But the Illini, who had struggled offensively much of the day, finally asserted themselves down the stretch, taking the five-point lead.
Freshman Brandon Paul, in a funk most of the game, scored seven points in a row to get his team untracked.
The scenario was shaping up similarly to the last time the teams met three years ago when Illinois overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to win 75-71.
But this time the Braves finished the job.
“It’s a huge confidence booster for us,” Egolf said.
Illinois coach Bruce Weber, whose team committed 15 turnovers and shot just 40 percent, was disappointed in his team’s 0-2 performance here.
“We didn’t execute down the stretch, obviously and we didn’t make shots,” he said. “To t heir credit, they made plays. We have a long way to go.”
Bradley, trailing 29-28 at halftime, opened the second half with a bang by bagging four consecutive 3-pointers -- one by Warren, one by Maniscalco and a pair by Roberts -- for a 40-34 lead at 16:58.
“Our execution, not only early in the first half, but down the stretch, was very good,” Les said. “You could just see the confidence rising by seeing how well they were executing. Our screening and cutting were really precise.”
All five BU starters finished in double figures, led by Warren’s 16 points. Mike Davis topped the Illini with 17 points and 7-footer Mike Tisdale, plagued by foul trouble, had a dozen points and eight rebounds.
“Tisdale obviously outweights me and is taller,” Egolf said. “But I’m quicker than him and can get down the floor faster than he can. But we have a lot of respect for them. This is so emotional and awesome for our guys from Illinois. I’m from Juneau, Alaska, but I know it’s about who owns Illinois.”
On this night, a long way from home in a town that isn’t always kind to the underdog, it was little brother who had the upper hand.
Braves briefs: Some 18 NBA scouts were on hand taking in the tournament on press row. Among those being evaluated were Oklahoma State guard James Anderson and Illinois forward Mike Davis and guard Brandon Paul. ... Through four games, the two Peoria kids on the Illinois roster rank first and fourth, respectively, in the Matto rankings, which statistically gauge a player’s value in some of the unsung categories like taking charges, passes deflected, dives, loose balls, 5-second violations drawn as well as blocked shots and steals. Freshman D.J. Richardson leads the team and Bill Cole ranks fourth. ... Seen chatting before the game Saturday were WMBD-AM analyst Chuck Buescher and Illinois assistant coach Jerrance Howard. Howard played for Buescher at Central. ... Spotted in the crowd: Bradley graduate and Los Angeles Dodgers radio voice Charley Steiner, and Charlie Spoonhour, MVC-TV commentator and former Missouri State, St. Louis and UNLV coach who is retired and living in Las Vegas.
Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or at dreynolds@pjstar.com.
Report card: Bradley vs. Illinois
