ST. LOUIS — Senior Darius Hannah scored 16 points, including 14 in the second half, as No. 2 seed Bradley held off No. 11 seed Valparaiso, 70-65, in the semifinal round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Saturday at the Enterprise Center.
The Braves, winning their fifth straight game, improved to 26-7 while advancing to Sunday’s championship of the MVC Tournament for the 10th time in program history and first time since falling to Drake, 77-51 in the 2023 championship.
Valparaiso, which knocked off No. 3 seed UNI Friday, was trying to become the first No. 11 seed to advance to the finals.
Bradley shot a paltry 37 percent from the field in the first half, but hit 60.9 percent in the second half. Bradley opened the second half making 10 of their first 11 shots as Hannah led the charge with nine points. A three-point play by Hannah tied the game at 49-49 with 12:44 left. Freshman guard Jaquan Johnson scored five straight points, igniting Bradley to a 54-51 lead. Three free throws by Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro gave Valparaiso a 63-61 advantage.
A three-point basket at the top of the key by Duke Deene gave Bradley a 66-63 lead that it never relinquished as the Braves scored their final four points at the free throw line. Valparaiso missed its last seven shots from the floor, going without a field goal for the last 6:31 of the game.
Hannah, the all-time games played leader for Bradley with 148, scored a team-high 16 points with 12 boards, earning his second double-double this season.
Senior Christian Davis reached double-digits for the 15th time this season, putting in 14 points to go along with three steals.
Junior center Ahmet Jonovic had nine points and six rebounds in the first half, finishing with 12 and eight, respectively. He also recorded three blocks and three assists–both one shy of career bests.
The Beacons, who had a two-game winning streak snapped, closed out the season with a 15-19 record.
Valparaiso guard All Wright, the MVC Freshman of the Year, continued his sensational play in the MVC Tournament, finishing with 24 points, including six three-pointers. He moved up to fourth all-time among MVC freshmen with 526 points. Wright finished the tournament ranking second all-time in MVC Tournament with 15 three-pointers, one shy of the tourney record set by Indiana State’s Cooper Neese in 2023 .
Sophomore forward Cooper Schwieger provided superb support with 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds Schwieger also finished the tournament with 13 blocked shots tying for second with Creighton’s Gregory Echenique (2013) on the tournament blocked shot list.
Junior guard Jefferson De La Cruz Monegro posted 15 points and seven rebounds after going scoreless in Valparaiso’s quarterfinal game against UNI.
Eight straight points from the Schweiger brothers – Cooper and Carson – gave Valparaiso a 12-11 lead with 15:27 left in the first half with the Beacons making five of seven shots, including two three-point baskets. Wright scored 10 straight points, including two treys, in a 2:12 span to push the Beacons lead to 24-13 with 11:30 left. Bradley responded with a 10-0 run including four points from Christian Davis to pull within 24-23. Wright answered back with consecutive three-point baskets and scored eight of Valpo’s last 10 points of the first half, giving the Beacons a 34-31 halftime lead.
