Suspenseful Game at Bradley

“Swoosh” Bradley is off to a quick start with 5-0 in the first three minutes. With out home advantage Jackie Carmichael answered for ISU with score of 5-4 with 15:30 left in the half. ISU struggled to score points while Bradley took a shocking 10-point lead.

Redbirds regroup and John Ekey and Jordan Treeloff had play after play cutting Bradley’s lead to 20-16 with less than four minutes to go in the half. Tyler Brown from the Redbirds found rhythm behind the arc scoring three straight threes giving the Redbirds the lead of 25-23.

A foul on the Birds gave Bradley a pair of free throws. The boys headed to the locker room with ISU and Bradley tied at 25-25.

Both Bradley and ISU hit shots back and fourth; Carmichael and Bryant Allen give ISU points having the score be 39-34. The game gets heated when the Redbirds went on a 9-2 run with five points coming from Ekey, including a shot beyond the arc, to increase Illinois State's lead to eight, 48-40, with five minutes left in the game. Four-straight points from Bradley cut ISU's lead to four, 48-44, with 3:11 remaining. Carmichael sank four-straight points for the Redbirds to give ISU a five-point advantage, 52-47, on the scoreboard with two minutes to play.

The crowd cheers as Bradley sinks a three pointer, score now 54-52 with under a minute to go. Allen from Redbirds fouls. Bradley shoots two free throws; he makes the first and misses the second. Ekey rebounds, Bradley fouls with 2.2 seconds on the clock. Ekey has two free throws. He misses the first and ISU calls a timeout. Coach tells Ekey to miss the second shot to waste the time left. The clock starts early on Ekeys second shot and this give Bradley an extra chance to score. ISU holds Bradley off. Final score of 54-53 gives the Redbirds the win!