Bradley fans had plenty to cheer about Sunday at the Palace of Auburn Hills, and don’t think their basketball team didn’t hear them.
After the final horn sounded in 13th-seeded Bradley’s 72-66 upset of fifth-seeded Pittsburgh, the Braves acknowledged the faithful who made the trip from Peoria. Before you knew it, the team was climbing into the stands to commune with their adoring public.
“It was a great feeling, because the fans have been with us all year,” said sophomore center Patrick O’Bryant, who led all scorers with a career-high 28 points. “We wouldn’t have been able to do a lot without their help and support, constant cheering and giving the other team garbage. It was a great feeling to go up there and thank them all for their support.”
Bradley, which made 26 of 32 free throws, gave its fans a second straight victory over a Top 25 team. Friday night the Braves took care of No. 12-ranked Kansas. Sunday it was Pitt’s turn.
“I thought they were really a tough team and got after it,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “We knew that coming into the game and we know it now. It was two teams getting after it, playing aggressive.”
Going into the stands isn’t always a good idea, especially in this arena, but there was cause for celebration. The victory put Bradley (22-10) in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1955.
It also marked the first time the Missouri Valley Conference has had two teams in the final 16. Wichita State got in on Saturday. Bradley will play Memphis on Thursday in Oakland and the Shockers will play George Mason on Friday in Washington.
“This is great for the Missouri Valley Conference,” said senior Lawrence “Boogie” Wright, who had 14 points off the bench. “They can’t say that we’re overrated or we got too many bids or whatever. I think we proved ourselves by our success in the NIT and the NCAA tournaments.”
O’Bryant, a 7-footer from Blaine, Minn., was matched against Pitt’s 7-foot Aaron Gray and got the best of him. Bradley went to O’Bryant right from the start and he scored on a variety of shots, ranging from old-fashioned hooks to jumpers and dunks.
He grabbed seven rebounds, three of them on the offensive glass. He also was 8 of 9 from the free-throw line, including 6 of 6 in the last 2 minutes 11 seconds.
“That was my `A’ game,” O’Bryant said. “I played a great game and we played a great game as a team, stopping them on defense and doing what it took to win.”
Bradley broke ahead quickly, but Pitt (25-8) fought to within 30-29 at the half. The Braves were down 35-34 when Gray was whistled for a five-second call. The Pitt junior slammed the ball high into the air, drawing a technical.
Marcellus Sommerville, who had 18 points, made both technical free throws and Bradley went on a 9-0 run. The Braves outscored the Panthers 19-4 to take control.
“That showed that we were starting to frustrate them a lot,” O’Bryant said of Gray’s technical. “They got some calls that didn’t go their way and that made them more mad. I think they did that out of frustration and we took advantage of it.”
Westinghouse graduate Tony Bennett and Wright keyed a Bradley defense that held Pitt to 41 percent shooting two days after the Panthers shot 68 percent against Kent State.
Pitt’s Carl Krauser had 17 points and five assists, but he also had six turnovers and four fouls.
“We just wanted to stay into him,” said Bradley coach Jim Les, a point guard on the Braves’ 1986 NCAA tournament team. “We knew he was going to make some plays, but we wanted to make him work for 40 minutes.
“I thought Tony’s energy and Boogie’s length–he’s got great quickness and that 7-foot wing span–that’s awfully bothersome. Those two guys were a big key.”
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rhanley@tribune.com
