How Bradley basketball reigned with Duke Deen's 3s and toppled Stonehill College

PEORIA — Duke Deen helped the Bradley Braves reign supreme over Stonehill College with a near-record shooting performance Monday.

The BU point guard made seven 3-pointers — one shy of the all-time single-game record for Bradley — while big center Rienk Mast put up a double-double to lead the Braves to a 79-50 victory and get the feel-good game they wanted before 3,716 at Carver Arena.

Deen had a career-high 26 points, while Bradley forward Ja'Shon Henry came off the bench for his first home appearance since being injured Nov. 19.

BU guard Ville Tahvanainen — yes, a guard — had a game-high 11 rebounds, most in his career.

And the Braves said goodbye to 6-foot-7 guard/forward Max Ekono, who transferred off the team amid his second season on the hilltop.

"When I get it going … I get aggressive, push it," Deen said. "I was just shooting, letting it fly. I knew they weren't going to let me keep shooting at some point. I just kept shooting, kept playing."

The 5-foot-8 Deen hit five consecutive 3s over a span of 10:11 in the second half to a 67-45 lead with 7:20 left.

At one point, as if to surrender, Stonehill fouled him on a 3-point try.

"Step-back 3s, catch-and-shoot, he hit a whole bunch off the dribble," Mast said. "We know when he's got it going he's got it going. He had a stretch where he hit four or five and it was crazy.

"Duke had that dream of a player, he was in that zone. It must have felt beautiful."

It was indeed a thing of beauty, just like the NBA elites that Deen likes to study.

"Damian Lillard. I like watching him shoot off the dribble," Deen said, grinning. "And Seth Curry, I like his catch-and-shoot game. Those are the guys I watch.

"Coach always tells me to shoot the open shots. Tonight, I did."

Bradley coach Brian Wardle said he studied a lot of film from Stonehill's games, saw a competitive, growing program in its first year at the NCAA Division I level.

It gave him pause. But whatever trepidation he might have had eased when his guards, Deen and Connor Hickman, took over the game early. They combined for 13-of-21 shooting from the field and made nine 3s.

"Duke got going, it was great to see, he was very aggressive and set the pace," Wardle said. "Hickman and Duke were in attack mode, everyone feeds off that and we need that from our backcourt."

Box score: Stonehill vs. Bradley

Masterful Rienk

As if Deen shooting 8-of-12 from the field (7-of-11 from 3) wasn't enough to torture Stonehill from the outside, 6-foot-10 Mast put up a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes down low.

It was a needed bounce-back game from Saturday's 76-57 loss to No. 10 Arkansas. The Braves wasted no time getting Stonehill under control, building a 29-9 lead 12:30 after tip-off on a layup from Mast.

"After a tough game on the road you want to come back home and gain some confidence," Mast said. "We knew coming in Stonehill was either going to be a dogfight or it was going to be a game like you saw.

"There were a couple points in the game where we let them play a little bit. But overall we were just solid, bounced back and regained some confidence.

"We were determined. Focused."

Said Deen: "We did not want to lose two in a row. They just moved up from D-II and they are a good team. They are going to beat some teams in that league."

A Max-imum exit

Max Ekono came to Bradley as a playmaking guard from France. He was in his second season here when he officially transferred out of the program Monday.

Ekono is headed to play for Clarendon College in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs, in Clarendon, Texas, are currently ranked No. 18 in JUCO ball.

Ekono's exit opens an interesting possibility for Bradley.

"He got a full ride to Clarendon, and now we have a scholarship available here," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said.

Will Bradley bring in a new player during this season?

"We're entertaining it, yes," Wardle said. "He'd have to be the right fit for us. We're looking for size and physicality."

Holding court

The Braves rambled off to a 9-0 lead, capped with a Deen 3-pointer. They never really were threatened.

Bradley destroyed the boards, out-rebounding Stonehill 50-23 and getting a combined 19 rebounds from guards Hickman, Dean and Tahvanainen. Offensive rebounds? That went 15-1 for Bradley.

"I'm proud of how our guys locked in mentally," Wardle said. "We did a good job of taking away some things that they wanted to do. Post defense has to get better. We played faster, took more shots … controlled aggression.

"Now that we have all our bodies back let's play fast and use our depth."

Henry, Hickman and Mast all had layups in the final 1:54 to punch out a 40-22 lead at halftime, while the Braves held Stonehill to 26.9% shooting. No Skyhawks players had more than one basket from the field.

Stonehill opened the second half with a little 6-1 run in the first 99 seconds, and BU took a timeout. Then Deen stopped that run with a 3 from the top of the key at 17:15 for 44-28.

Henry battled to the rim for 46-30 at 16:41.

Deen, all alone in the right corner, took his time and measured up a 3 for 49-30 lead at 15:44.

Then Deen hit another 3 from the left wing at 11:15 and it was 59-39.

And then another, from left wing for 64-44, his sixth of the game. Game over.

"Crashing the glass and defensive rebounding percentage we were pretty good," Wardle said. "Our forwards have to take care of the ball better. If we can get our assist total, our steal total a little higher with active hands, I'll be happy with where we're going."

In the huddle

• Bradley center Rienk Mast, joking about teammate guard Ville Tahvanainen grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds: "That little guard stealing my boards. I boxed people out and he jumped in there and got the rebounds. Seriously, though, man he was in there battling."

• Bradley guard Duke Deen, on not allowing Stonehill to get in the game: "We talked to each other, knew we couldn't let them go on a huge run."

• Bradley head coach Brian Wardle, on his suddenly healthy, deep roster: "Ville Tahvanainen, Ja'Shon Henry and Darius Hannah coming off the bench, very talented players, they are real weapons. And (guard) Pop Weathers gave us some good minutes, pushing the tempo."

Bravely Speaking

Bradley is 8-4. Stonehill slipped to 4-9. … Braves forward Ja'Shon Henry had seven points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes. … Bradley forward Darius Hannah was assessed a flagrant-1 foul with 5:16 left in the first half when he elbowed forward Cole Bergan as he started down the court past him. … Deen's seven made 3s were one short of the all-time Bradley single-game record. Anthony Manuel (1988), Aaron Zobrist (1995), Anthony Parker (1996), Jerome Robinson (2001) and Danny Adams (2006) share the record at 8. … The Braves are 6-0 at home. Going back to the 2021-22 season, Bradley has won 13 straight at Carver Arena. … Stonehill got a team-best 13 points from forward Andrew Sims. … The Skyhawks shot 32% from the field and were 4 of 21 from 3-point range. … Bradley shot 47.5% from the field and was 12 of 30 from 3. … BU guard Connor Hickman had 12 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes. … The Braves host Akron on Thursday in a 7 p.m. game at Carver Arena. ... The game was played on the same day that, 35 years ago (Dec. 19, 1987) that Cal Irvine traveled to Carver Arena and piled up 119 points on Bradley. And lost by 20. Hersey Hawkins had 51 points, Jerry Thomas had 33 and Anthony Manuel had 21 assists in Bradley's 139-119 win. Hat tip, Job Gunderson, Lincoln Way Central assistant basketball coach.

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 Twitter @icetimecleve.

FINAL: Bradley 79, Stonehill College 50

Bradley coasting to the finish

8:44 p.m.: Braves are up 77-45 with 3:40 left here. Rienk Mast has a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds. Deen leaves the game with 2:30 left.

In record territory

8:36 p.m.: Bradley guard Duke Deen now has 7 3-pointers in this game, one short of tying the all-time single-game Bradley record. BU leads 70-45.

Stonehill has had enough. Deen tried to shoot for the record, and Skyhawks fouled him in 3-point range.

Bradley in command

8:32 p.m.: Duke Deen hits his sixth 3 of the game to give the Braves a 64-44 lead with 7:47 left. Timeout on the floor.

The Duke is reigning

8:23 p.m.: Bradley guard Duke Deen is feeling it, works one-on-one for some space and then buries a 3 for a 59-39 lead with 11:15 left. Takes a quick glance at the Stonehill bench as he comes back down court.

Deen is 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

Braves hit some 3s

8:13 p.m.: Duke Deen stopped Stonehill's run with a 3 from the top of the key at 17:15 for 44-28.

Henry then battled to the rim for 46-30 at 16:41.

Deen, all alone in the right corner, measured up an easy 3 for a 49-30 lead at 15:44.

Skyhawks pushing back

8:07 p.m.: Stonehill opens the second half with a 6-1 run in the first 99 seconds, and Bradley takes a timeout.

By the numbers

7:59 p.m.: The Braves socked away a 25-10 lead on the boards, including 8 from Rienk Mast in 15 minutes.

Ja'Shon Henry came off the bench for 7 points and 3 rebounds. Connor Hickman had a game-high 9 points at the break.

Bradley's defense held Stonehill College to 7 of 26 shooting (26.9%). No Skyhawks player had more than one made shot from the field.

HALFTIME: Bradley 40, Stonehill College 22

7:48 p.m.: Ja'Shon Henry, Connor Hickman and Rienk Mast all with layups in the final 1:54 to punch out a 40-22 lead at the break.

Bodying up

7:41 p.m.: Stonehill 6-foot-6 forward Andrew Sims trying to back his way to the basket through Ja'Shon Henry, who absorbs one, two, three blows in the chest and wins the battle.

Sims yakking at referee all the way down the floor as play goes the other way. Henry powers inside and earns two free throws.

It's 34-19 Bradley with 2:36 left first half.

On board the BU bigs

7:30 p.m.: The Braves have a 19-5 rebounding lead. Stonehill College is shooting just 5 of 20 from the field in the first 14:30.

Bradley cruising 29-9

7:27 p.m.: Connor Hickman with a drive out of the corner along the baseline for layin 20-7.

Rienk Mast ripped down a rebound and started play the other way again, and Bradley tacked on to 23-7 with a 3 from the right wing from Zek Montgomery.

Another stop, another rush down court, and Mast drove to the rim for an and-1 (he missed the free throw) and 25-7 lead at 8:45.

Ja'Shon Henry off the bench

7:17 p.m.: Bradley pumped its lead to 18-5 with 11:42 left in the half as Ja'Shon Henry came off the bench for a short hook, a layup and a pair of rebounds.

Stonehill's first points came on a corner 3 from guard Isaiah Burnett with 15 minutes left in the half.

But Henry answered with a hook for 11-3 at 13:25.

Duke Deen hit a 3 from the left wing for 14-5.

Ville Tahvanainen put home a layup for 16-5 after BU kept the possession alive with two offensive rebounds.

Henry then added a drive to the rim for an 18-5 lead with 11:42 left.

Braves rolling early

7:09 p.m.: Bradley out to a 9-0 start as the under-16 break arrives.

Connor Hickman hit a 3 to open the game. After three stops, Ville Tahvanainen drives for layup and-1 for 6-0 at 17:11 left.

Another stop, and then Duke Deen comes down and hits a 3 from top of the key for 9-0 at 16:31.

Starting lineups

6:55 p.m.: Bradley starting lineup includes guards Duke Deen and Connor Hickman, with forwards Rienk Mast, Malevy Leons and Zek Montgomery. Stonehill College counters with guards Max Zegarowski, Isaiah Burnett, Thatcher Stone and forwards Cole Bergan and Andrew Sims.

National anthem sung tonight by Peoria native and Bradley University music performance major Katie Brown.

Other Bradley basketball stories

• Darius Hannah: Bradley Braves man in the middle has found a basketball family

• Rienk Mast: Bradley all-MVC center talks about his knee injury as the Braves rework starting lineup

• Dunks and dance-offs: How Bradley basketball flipped the script at its annual scrimmage

• Who hit the weight room, altered roles and more: What we learned from Bradley's first basketball practice

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: How Bradley reigned with Duke Deen's 3s to topple Stonehill College