KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Bradley Braves guard Demarion Burch took Brian Wardle’s words to heart and let his game do the talking Wednesday in the third-place finale of the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational.
Burch scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in an inspired return to the starting lineup as Bradley beat a 5-1 Liberty University team, 74-64, at State Farm Field House.
“This was our best win of the year, and we needed to beat one of these top 100 teams and we were able to find a way, so that was a great, great showing,” Braves head coach Wardle said. “Starting Burch was a great move because he responded and made big plays and big shots for us throughout the game.
“Alex (Huibregtse) and Burch, I challenged them last night to be defensively better. I thought they both responded to that …”
Burch went off for nine points in a span of 4:49 to give the Braves a 29-18 lead with 7:27 left in the first half.
He hit three jumpers and a layup, netted a free throw, and put together his best stretch of basketball so far this season.
The Braves followed suit, extending their lead to 37-20 on a 13-4 run covering five minutes with 4:38 left in the half.
“I felt like the first couple games I wasn’t really in it,” said Burch, who has been recovering from a strained calf that shelved him for a couple games. “My energy was kind of low. So I had to come back harder for (my team), energy and effort on both ends and get the outcome. That’s all I wanted to do for my guys.
“I practice hard and I feel like it’s always there. But when you come back from injury it doesn’t always click. It took some time for me to get back into rhythm and I’m glad to be back playing.”
While Burch made his first six shots, Huibregtse sank all three of his 3-point attempts in the early going. At the other end, the pair combined for 12 rebounds and the Braves produced five steals and got strong efforts in the paint from Corey Thomas and Ahmet Jonovic.
“We played smart, we played hard, we played together and we were talking, we were listening,” Wardle said. “I told them, we need to talk to each other and listen to each other and be more connected defensively and we got to commit to it for 40 minutes.
“We beat a Liberty team that is very, very good and I’m just proud of these guys, three games in three days.”
Message received.
“We talked about it last night, we all were kind of frustrated (after losing to UC San Diego) because we know what we can do,”Burch said. “Today we just pulled like a 40-minutes game together on both ends of the ball … that got us the W. It was executing what we had to do. So credit to the (coaches) for putting us in position to be successful.
“We just went out and handled business.”
No comebacks allowed
Liberty scored the game’s first two points, but Bradley pushed ahead 49 seconds into the game and led the rest of the way.
Bradley’s two big men, Ahmet Jonovic and Corey Thomas, scored back-to-back on layups and then Burch followed with a drive to the rim off a turnover to punch out a 41-20 lead with 3:28 left in the first half.
The Flames went on a run to the half to get it down to 43-33, but Bradley counter-punched in the second half every time Liberty tried to make a move, keeping the lead mostly at double-digits.
Liberty opened the second half with a 3-pointer from Brett Decker, a defensive stop, and then a layup from Kaden Matheny, and suddenly the BU lead was down to five points with just 1:41 gone.
But the Braves didn’t blink as Huibregtse answered Matheny’s drive with a 3-pointer for 46-38 with 17:51 left.
Then BU forward Timoty van der Knaap scored from the paint on a weird play with 16:52 left, the lead went to nine and Liberty never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
“We started the game defending, and defending with discipline, and that was really good to see,” Wardle said. “It really led to our offense and that’s what you have to do in these three games in three days (challenges).”
Dialing it in
Everything looks better for the Braves when fifth-year senior guard Alex Huibregtse hits his 3-point shots.
And right now, he’s hitting them. The Wright State transfer went 13of 22 for 59% over the three-game tournament, putting an early-season slow start behind him.
“I feel good, I’ve been saying it but honestly, it’s just the percentages playing out,” Huibregtse said. “I knew I was going to get hot after a slow start, not making shots like I’m used to. My teammates have done a great job of finding me and keeping me positive.”
Huibregtse is 16 of 30 from distance over Bradley’s last four games now, a stretch in which the Braves have gone 3-1. His first four games of the season, he was 10 of 35 for 29%.
“Alex is a heckuva player and he’s going to be a huge part of this season,” Wardle said. “He’s going to be fun to watch because I think he’s getting more and more confident with what we’re doing.”
Basketball gods are funny
The Braves ended up part of a viral video earlier this season when center Ahmet Jonovic had the misfortune of an opponent’s missed 3-pointer bounce off the glass, land on top of his head, and bounce back up and into the net.
With 16:52 left in Wednesday’s game against Liberty, another Braves big Timoty van der Knaap, found himself in the ricochet club.
Demarion Burch missed a free throw and the ball came off the iron live and with zip, heading right at van der Knaap’s face.
The 6-foot-8 forward threw his hands up to protect his face, and inadvertently two-hand batted the ball back up and into the net for a 49-40 lead.
The shot looked like a volleyball play.
“Yeah, we were do for some lucky bounces,” Wardle said. “I’ll tell you about the basketball gods, we haven’t had much luck this season so far, so we were due for the ball to bounce our way a couple of times and it happened today.”
Follow along below for live updates on the game. Information starts after the gallery:
Bravely Speaking
Bradley improved to 4-4. … Liberty slipped to 5-2. … Liberty included senior forward Zach Cleveland, a Normal Community High School product. He had a game-high 11 rebounds and game-high 8 assists. … Bradley 7-foot center Kai Yu, who transferred from Liberty to the Braves over the summer, got off the bench for a 2-minute cameo against his old team. … The Braves got a career-high 21 points from junior guard Demarion Burch, who added a team-best 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 33 minutes. …BU guard Alex Huibregtse was 4 of 5 from the field, all 3-pointers. He went 10 of 16 (62.5%) from 3 the last games. … BU point guard Jaquan Johnson has 12 points and 5 assists, and added 3 steals. He’s among the national leaders in steals and is on pace for 104 this season. … Bradley out-rebounded Liberty, 36-20. … Liberty got 21 points from guard Brett Decker. … UC San Diego beat Towson 87-73 in the championship Wednesday morning to win the Terry’s Chocolate tourney. … The Braves come home to host Washington State at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Carver Arena.
Bradley vs. Liberty score updates
FINAL: Bradley 74, Liberty 64
Burch locking it down
Liberty gets a deep 3 from Kaden Metheny to get within eight. But Demarion Burch answers seconds later with a 3 at the other end for 66-55 with 3:39 left.
Braves 61, Liberty 52
About 5 minutes left to play now, Liberty trying to hang around gets a corner 3 from Brett Decker to cut BU lead to 61-52.
Bradley’s van der Knaap with four fouls.
Free throw line
Bradley up 55-45 with nine minutes left against Liberty.
Braves have just four free throws in the game, and they split those. Liberty is 9 of 16 from the line.
Jaquan with a steal
Braves point guard Jaquan Johnson picks up his fourth steal, sends the ball up court to Burch, and he drives the rim for a 53-42 win with 11:16 left in the game.
Volleyball!
Liberty cuts Bradley’s lead all the way down to five in the opening segment of the second half.
But the Braves recover with a 3 from Huibregtse, then get a bucket off a missed free throw. The ball came off the rim and headed right at Timoty van der Knaap’s face, and the Bradley big man threw his hands up to defend his face and inadvertently volleyballed the ball into the basket with both hands.
It’s 49-40 Bradley at the 16-under break.
By the numbers
The Braves are shooting 62.1% from the field and 54.5% (6 of 11) from 3-point range in the first half.
Demarion Burch with a game-high 13 points, Alex Huibregtse next with 9, and Jaquan Johnson has added 3 more steals to his season-long total.
HALFTIME: Bradley 43, Liberty 33
Bradley 37, Liberty 20
The Braves force two more turnovers and get a defensive stop after Burch’s run, and cash in on 3-pointers from Huibregtse and Johnson and a layup from Ahmet Jonovic to blow out a 17-point lead with 4:38 left in the half.
Burch goes off
Bradley guard Demarion Burch goes off for nine points in a span of 4:49 to give the Braves a 29-18 lead with 7:27 left in the first half.
Burch hits three jumpers and a layup, plus nets a free throw, to put together his best stretch of basketball so far.
A big start
Braves run off to a 16-5 lead in this third game in three days.
Alex Huibregtse hits consecutive 3s and then A.J. Smith hits a 3 to get Bradley started. They keep rolling with a jumper from the paint by Demarion Burch, then a tip-in by Corey Thomas and a 3-pointer from Jaquan Johnson.
During that opening run the Braves block two shots and force two turnovers.
Starting lineups
By the numbers
What time does Bradley play today?
What channel is the Bradley vs Liberty game on today?
Bradley vs Liberty live stream options
Bradley vs Liberty will be available on ESPN+ and Fubo (free trial available)
Bradley basketball vs Liberty betting odds
Game lines and odds from OddsShark as of Wednesday, Nov. 26
Bradley basketball schedule
Record: 4-4
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(This story has been updated to add pictures, video and additional information)
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley basketball vs Liberty: Game info and more as Braves win, capture third at tournament
Reporting by Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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