VALPARAISO, Ind. — Valparaiso proved to be a bigs problem for the Bradley Braves in a Missouri Valley Conference game Wednesday.
The Braves chased the Beacons all night, leading for just 42 seconds on the way to a 79-72 loss before 1,636 at The ARC in a game in which they rallied from 15 points down with 4:27 left to get within two at the 1:49 mark.
They were on that threshold several times in the game, but each time they came up a play short and slipped back, becoming the latest quality Valley team to be upset by a Valpo group that is the youngest in the league.
The Beacons are 9-8 in the conference, but they have beaten Illinois State, UIC, Northern Iowa and now Bradley – all teams holding at least a share of a first-round bye in the upcoming Arch Madness tournament.
“They know this game was huge,” Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said. “They are all big this time of year, you’re in a hunt. We needed this one, and I don’t think we came out with the toughness, or the mental or physical toughness, to win this game.”
Three of Bradley’s big men – center Ahmet Jonovic and forwards Corey Thomas and Timoty van der Knaap – combined for 9 points on 3 of 7 shooting, 5 rebounds, 5 turnovers and 10 fouls.
Valparaiso bigs Shon Tupuola and JT Pettigrew combined for 33 points on 8 of 14 shooting, 10 rebounds, five assists, a block and three steals.
“They were the tougher team, more physical team, their forwards beat up ours,” Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said. “We started each half very poorly defensively. I was very disappointed in our first four minutes of each half, defensively. All the controllables, talk, toughness, getting in the stance, communication … we were prepared for what they ran over and over again, and we just didn’t execute very well.
“Our forwards got to play a lot better. Our 4s and 5s gotta compete with theirs. I just thought they were more physical, they beat us up in the paint.”
The Braves beat Valpo 72-65, on Feb. 3 for their 10th straight win in the series. The loss in the rematch dropped Bradley into a three-way tie with Murray State and UIC at 11-6 for second place in the MVC race.
It also allowed first-place Belmont, at 14-3, to clinch at least a share of the Valley regular-season title.
“A statement game for our program”
On the Valparaiso side of it, head coach Roger Powell Jr. led an emotional post-game with several players at his side, after snapping Bradley’s 10-game win streak in the series.
“This is definitely a statement game for our program. We had a lot of struggles with Bradley, and one thing I told our team in film and preparation was we were going to put up a stop sign. We actually have a stop sign in the locker room. (The message) is we’re going to stop teams feeling like they can have success and win here. We’re going to stop the disrespect of our program in this conference. We’re going to stop being OK with just competing.
“It’s unacceptable”
The Braves fell back by 11 in the first half, but battled into a 35-35 halftime tie thanks to 17 first-half points on five made 3s by Alex Huibregtse.
The graduate student guard buried his sixth 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the second half to give the Braves a 38-37 lead. But Valpo rattled off an 11-3 run to a 48-41 lead at the first media break.
“It’s a huge weapon (Huibregtse’s shooting) because obviously teams have to really focus on him,” Bradley forward A.J. Smith said. “He’s a real key for us, and I feel like whenever he gets going it sets the tone for the rest of us to get going.”
Smith put together his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Huibregtse buried four 3-pointers in a stretch of 3:47 to pull the Braves into a 27-27 tie with 6:12 left in the first half.
“We came out real slow, real sluggish,” Huibregtse said. “We were soft and that set the tone for the rest of the game. We had a decent little stretch there to end the last 12 minutes of the first half, but we came out the same way we started the game to start the second half.
“It’s physicality and rebounding, they punked us, you know. That’s happened a couple times this year. At this point in the year it’s unacceptable to have that happen and we need to really change the rest of the season.”
One last run
The Braves trailed, 71-56, when Demarion Burch put away a second-chance layup and-1 with 4:09 left to start a final charge.
They exchanged turnovers, then BU got a defensive stop and Burch cashed in with another layup to make it 71-61 at 3:28.
Another defensive stop followed, and then a 3 by Jaquan Johnson and suddenly it was 71-64 with 2:48 to go.
A steal by Montana Wheeler was next, and when he missed a 3-pointer, A.J. Smith was there to grab an offensive rebound and put down a pair of free throws for 71-66 with 2:28 left.
Valpo added a free throw, but then Johnson threw himself down the lane for a layup, Valpo followed with a turnover and Wheeler cashed in with a layup to get the game to 72-70 with 1:49 left.
Again, Bradley just couldn’t quite get the next big play it needed. Burch missed a jumper, Johnson was slapped with an offensive foul and then 17 seconds later fouled out of the game, Wheeler missed a jumper, Smith grabbed an offensive rebound off that miss but then turnover over the ball. …
“Just last three or four minutes we’re trying to make a run,” Smith said. “Just so close. But not close enough.”
They said it
Bravely Speaking
The Braves are 18-10 overall and 11-6 in conference play. … Valparaiso is 15-13 (9-8). … Bradley point guard Jaquan Johnson leads the MVC in steals with 2.78 per game, and is second in scoring at 17.0 points per game. He is second in the nation with 75 steals but was held without a steal by Valparaiso, the third time in five games Johnson has been blanked. Johnson is one of five players in the nation averaging at least 17 points and 2.5 steals per game. … Bradley guard Alex Huibregtse had a game-high 22 point on 6 of 9 shooting from 3. … Valparaiso freshman JT Pettigrew produced 22 points and 5 rebounds. … BU guard Jaquan Johnson had 14 points. … A.J. Smith had a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds. … Bradley head coach Brian Wardle has 111 career wins in the Valley, most in program history. The BU head coach has 204 overall career wins at Bradley’s helm, second most in program history. Wardle is tied for eighth with Rich Herrin (1985-97 at SIU) on the league’s all-time wins list in MVC play. … Braves guard Alex Huibregtse is 33 of 61 (54%) from 3-point range in the last six games. … Jaquan Johnson’s 75 steals are tied for seventh with Walt Lemon Jr. on Bradley’s all-time single-season list. The record is 86, held by Dyricus Simms-Edwards (2012-13). … The Braves have nine underclassmen on the roster in 2025-26, making them the second youngest team in the MVC only to Valpo (10). … The 2025-26 season marks three important anniversaries for the Braves program: 20 years for the 2005-06 Sweet 16 team; 30 years for the 1995-96 MVC regular-season championship team, and 40 years for the 1985-86 MVC Regular-season championship team. … The Braves have 221 steals, led by Johnson with 75 and A.J. Smith with 36. A top 10 spot on the program all-time single season list would require 260 (1980-81 BU team). … Valpo freshman JT Pettigrew’s 5 rebounds Wednesday gave him 184 for the season, tying the program’s all-time single-season freshman record (Raitis Grafs, 1999-2000). … Valparaiso’s win was its ninth in the Valley this season, matching its single-season high since joining the league in 2017-18. … ESPN has selected Bradley’s rematch with Illinois State at Carver Arena as its wild card game for the broadcast schedule. The game will tip at 7 p.m. and air on ESPN2. … ESPN has chosen Bradley’s regular-season and home finale against Murray State as a wild card game. The March 1 game will tip at 1 p.m. and air on ESPN2.
The Journal Star will brought live updates from ARC Center in Valparaiso, Indiana. See highlights below:
Bradley vs. Valparaiso final score update
FINAL: Valparaiso 79, Bradley 72
The Bully is gone
Jaquan Johnson fouls out with 54 seconds left and Bradley trailing, 75-70.
Braves rally to within two
Braves cut it all the way down to 72-70 off a layup by Wheeler with 1:49 left. Beacons get some back at the free throw line, and Bradley down 5 and loses possession on an offensive foul call on Jaquan Johnson with 63 seconds left.
Down the stretch
Bradley down 71-61 with 3:28 left in Valparaiso.
Jonovic in foul trouble
Ahmet Jonovic has 3 points, 2 rebounds, and just picked up his fourth foul with 5:30 left.
Braves in deepest hole of the game
Braves cut to 51-49, then go cold, failing to hit a field goal in a five-minute stretch.
Meanwhile, Valpo puts together an 11-1 run over 3:20 and BU is trailing, 62-50, with 8:20 left.
Valparaiso freshman JT Pettigrew has 20 points.
Braves fighting uphill
Bradley has held a lead for 42 seconds in this game. Been chasing Valpo.
Back to 7 down
Huibregtse hits his sixth 3-pointer to give the Braves a 38-37 lead in the opening seconds of the second half.
But Valpo answers with a pair of 3s, including one off a blocked shot as BU center Ahmet Jonovic was too slow to finish a shot at the rim and got blocked from behind.
Suddenly, it’s 48-41 with 15:48 left.
By the numbers
Bradley guard Alex Huibregtse is 5 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half for 17 points. His career-high in points is 32, set when he played for Wright State in a Jan. 25, 2024 game at Cleveland State.
HALFTIME: Bradley 35, Valparaiso 35
Valpo, 31, Bradley 27
Valpo’s Pettigrew fouled from 3-point range by Timoty van der Knaap, who goes to the bench with his third foul. It’s 31-27 at the 4-under break.
Huibregtse ties it up
Bradley senior guard Alex Huibregtse buries two more 3-pointers, 44 seconds apart, to pull the Braves into a 27-27 tie with just outside six minutes left.
Valpo hits from deep
6:33 p.m.: Whitaker hits consecutive 3s for the Beacons for a 25-16 lead with 8:22 left.
But Bradley gets an answering 3 from Alex Huibregtse 20 seconds later and the Braves go to the 8-under break down 25-19.
Here come the Braves
Bradley on an 8-0 run as Corey Thomas blocks a layup try from Owen Dease, and A.J. Smith takes it the other way for a layup and-1 (missed the free throw).
It cuts BU deficit to 19-16 with 9:33 left.
Braves down 8
6:26 p.m.: Bradley gets a 3-pointer from Jaquan Johnson — his second of the game — to cut its deficit to 19-11 as the break arrives with 11:30 left.
BU has four turnovers. Valpo none.
And Beacons lead in the paint, 10-4.
Valpo building a hot start
The Beacons are shooting 71% from the field in the first six minutes to take a 17-6 lead.
They are on an 11-1 run over the last 3:47.
Braves trail early
Valpo freshman JT Pettigrew, held to two points in BU’s win over Valpo in Peoria on Feb. 3, has a pair of layups and two free throws to lead the Beacons to an 11-5 lead in the first four minutes of the game.
Bradley vs Valparaiso projected starters
Bradley vs. Valparaiso by the numbers
Honors for Bradley’s Bully
Bradley star guard Jaquan “Bully” Johnson was named MVC Player of the Week on Tuesday, the third time he’s pulled that honor this season. No other player has earned it more than twice.
Johnson led the Braves to two wins last week. The second-year guard out of Milwaukeeaveraged 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 3.0 steals while shooting 50% from the field and 53% from three-point range in Bradley victories against Belmont and Southern Illinois. .
Johnson’s 31-point performance against Belmont on Feb. 9 marked thefirst time a Bradley player has recorded three 30-point games in a season since 1990-91.
Over the two-game stretch, Johnson also tied his career high in assists with seven against Belmont and matched his career high in rebounds with seven at Southern Illinois.
Braves Rewind
Bradley surged from a halftime tie to dominate in the second half on the way to a 70-60 win on the road at Southern Illinois on Sunday.
That game left the Braves in strong position for a top 3 seed in the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
“It was a huge, huge game, we’re in a big battle in our league right now and all jumbled up,” Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said. “You gotta take one game at a time, and you gotta play smart, and you gotta execute. We didn’t always play smart today, we made some big mental mistakes I thought in key moments in the second half. But if we can keep executing and playing smart, playing with defense like that, with that effort, that’s gonna really help us.”
What time does Bradley play today?
What channel is the Bradley vs Valparaiso game on today?
Bradley vs Valparaiso live stream options
Bradley vs Valparaiso will be available via ESPN+.
Bradley basketball vs Valparaiso betting
Game lines and odds via OddsShark as of late Tuesday night, Feb. 17:
Bradley basketball schedule
Record: 18-10
Buy Bradley basketball tickets this season via StubHub
(This story has been updated to add pictures, video and more 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 Valparaiso: Everything to know about the Braves loss to Beacons
Reporting by Dave Eminian, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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