Great Coaches Matching Wits

Overtime Contest Between Bradley & Belmont

(Peoria, IL) – It is fun to watch great coaches matching wits. Monday night at Carver Arena, two outstanding Missouri Valley Conference head coaches were looking for the competitive edge. Bradley’s Brian Wardle and Belmont’s Casey Alexander have enjoyed a high-level of success and their skills were on display on Monday.

During the first half, both teams’ defenses were in full view. Then these master tacticians and motivators completely flipped the script. A first half ‘rock fight’ (Belmont led 33-31 at intermission), turned into a second stanza track meet with each team scoring nearly 50 points.

Bradley would prevail in overtime 95-84. The Braves made nine of their first ten three-point attempts and all-league guard Jaquan Johnson rang up 25 points after the break. Alex Huibregste’s triple with less than 30-seconds left, sent us into extra basketball.

Belmont’s bigs crashed the glass for offensive rebounds and extra possessions and all-conference guard Tyler Lundblade got loose late. One of the nation’s top shooters was held scoreless for the first 30 minutes of the game and finished with 16 points.

Matching Wits – Wardle

In several key moments Wardle would switch from his beloved man-to-man defense and would toss a zone defense at the Bruins who naturally took some time to see and adjust to. During a critical moment in overtime, the Braves suddenly pressed and caused a ten-second violation that was a momentum shifter.

Wardle says coaching against Alexander is fun and challenging, as each sought to mix and match their lineups.

 

Belmont Leading the League

The Bruins (22-4, 12-3) still lead the league by two games, but have been battling injuries. Win Miller left the game with what looked like an ankle injury. They have been playing without league-leading assist man Nic McClain for weeks and wing Sam Orme is hampered by a facial injury.

Belmont saw its nine-game losing streak stopped. While Alexander didn’t feel like his team was as sharp as it needed to be on Monday, he is confident in his team.

 

Bradley is off until Saturday and Belmont entertains Northern Iowa on Thursday.

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