How Bradley remembered a coach, welcomed a baseball hall of famer and beat SIUE
PEORIA — Bradley paid tribute to the past, then took care of the present Saturday in a basketball game that was equal parts reunion and competition.
The Braves walloped SIU-Edwardsville, 80-55, before 3,685 at Carver Arena to win three straight for the first time in 24 games going back to mid-November of last season.
But it was a look further back that brought emotion to the stage Saturday, as SIUE coach Brian Barone and Bradley coach Brian Wardle shared the sideline as opponents.
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Barone, the son of late former Bradley assistant coach Tony Barone, had his family behind the bench as BU delivered a pre-game tribute to his father on the videoboard and held a moment of silence. His mother, Kathy, was in tears as she watched the ceremony, with granddaughters Cecilia, Gianna and Ava and daughter-in-law Mimi surrounding her.
"It was a no-brainer, a must," Wardle said. "Everyone in Peoria knows Coach Tony Barone and remembers those days in the '80s. He was a big part of Bradley basketball. He was a big part of my life, too.
"When I first became a coach, and Brian was on my staff ... Coach Barone would come around and try to help me figure things out.
"We all miss him. How many lives he's impacted as a coach. It was a great moment."
Brian Barone served as an assistant coach under Wardle for five seasons when the pair were at Green Bay.
Barone grew up on Bradley basketball as his father, the late Tony Barone Sr., was an assistant coach with the Braves from 1978-85. He died in 2019.
Brian Barone played two seasons at Marquette with Wardle and BU assistant coach Mike Bargen. SIUE assistant coach Troy Pierce served three years on Wardle's staff at BU as coordinator of player development and video operations. SIUE assistant coach Colin Schneider spent four years with Wardle at Green Bay as director of basketball operations.
Long after the game they were on the court, their kids sitting on the BU logo at midcourt while the adults visited.
"It's not easy beating your friend," Wardle said.
"Very emotional," longtime BU voice Dave Snell said. "Tony was one of my best friends."
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In the postgame aftermath Barone talked basketball, talked about how Bradley was the most physical team the Cougars have faced, talked about how the game got away from them.
And he talked about that ceremony.
"Very emotional," he said. "Very kind of them. This place, it's so special to the Barone family for so many reasons. There were a lot of 'Remember When?' conversations today. There are a lot of people on that Bradley coaching staff we care a lot about. I'm OK with saying that."
How Bradley won it
The Braves were down 16-11 with 11:34 left in the half, then raced off to finish the half on 34-11 run. That included 6 of 10 from 3.
SIUE went cold during that stretch, hitting just 2 of 14 from the field.
Jayson Kent and Ville Tahvanainen each hit a pair of 3s, while Terry Roberts and Connor Hickman hit 3s and Bradley connected from long range four times in the final 5:37 of the half.
Kent's corner 3 with 8:16 left gave BU a 21-18 lead. He hit another with 5:32 left for 28-22 and then Hickman's 3 followed 23 seconds later for 31-22 and the Braves never looked back.
"It feels good seeing our shots go in at Carver," said Kent, who was 4 of 6 from long range and finished with 13 points. "I was in a little shooting funk the last two games. But I feel good now."
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Bradley got 17 points, four assists and four steals from guard Terry Roberts.
"That win over Northern Iowa (on Wednesday), it gave us so much confidence," Roberts said.
Senior Ja'Shon Henry had 11 points and a highlight-reel block, while three more BU players — Malevy Leons, Rienk Mast and Tahvanainen — each had nine points.
Roberts, Tahvanainen and Kent combined for 9 of 14 from 3 as the Braves hit 45.5% from long range. Throw in 10 blocked shots for BU and only five assists in the game for SIUE, and the blowout was complete.
"Play for each other on offense, protect each other on defense," Wardle said. "That's what we wanted, that's what we did."
They said it
Bradley coach Brian Wardle: "Jayson Kent gave us a huge lift with his shooting."
Bradley guard Terry Roberts, on seeing Hall of Fame pitcher Lee Smith courtside: "There wasn't much time, but I went over there and shook his hand."
SIUE coach Brian Barone: "We've gone to Marquette, we've gone to Creighton. I think Bradley was the most physical team we played and it bothered us."
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Bravely Speaking
Baseball Hall of Fame closer and former Cubs star Lee Smith drove up from his St. Louis home and was at the BU game, sitting courtside. "I wish I could play," Smith joked when asked if he wanted to get out on the floor. ... Bradley improves to 4-5 while SIUE slips to 3-6. ... The Braves last won three straight games when they beat Northern Iowa and swept Evansville on Jan. 11, 16 and 17 last season. ... Bradley now is 4-0 all-time against SIUE. ... SIUE was just 2 of 18 from 3-point range and shot 27.6% from the field. SIUE got a game-high 22 points from guard Ray'Sean Taylor. ... Bradley is 31-14 all-time against Ohio Valley Conference teams, including a 26-8 mark in Peoria. ... BU walk-on Riley Burger got on the floor for the final 2:08 and was 0-of-1 shooting. ... Next up for the Braves is a Tuesday road test at Toledo.
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. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: How Bradley remembered Tony Barone, welcomed Lee Smith and beat SIUE
