Recap of Bradley Braves basketball win over Coppin State, plus preview of George Mason duel

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Bradley Braves men's basketball team held off an upset-minded Coppin State team Thursday at the Showdown in St. Pete.Bradley rallied in the second half and held on in the final seconds to earn its first victory against an NCAA Div.-I opponent in the 2026-27 season, a 56-54 decision at McArthur Center on the campus of Eckerd College.“We’ll take ugly wins right now, we’re playing ugly, we’re not playing real well,” Bradley head coach Brian Wardle said in a postgame broadcast interview. “I’m glad we could pull it out, I’m glad we found a way, but we don’t listen. We didn’t listen the whole first half. We don’t listen very well as a team, didn’t listen to the coaches, didn’t listen to each other.“I’m happy this group can feel a win, but we have so much we got to improve on, and really just the focus on listening is probably No. 1 right now.”A close call at the finishBrendan Johnson sank a pull-up jumper with 38 seconds left to give Coppin State a 54-53 lead.The Braves’ answering possession saw a missed layup by Jackson Seastrunk with 17 seconds left. But BU forward Xander Alerie went up to the rim in a tip-in bid, and while contesting it, Coppin State’s Jamari Piercy inadvertently tipped the ball into the net for a 55-54 Bradley lead.The play went under video review and was upheld, with the basket credited to Alerie.Alerie split a pair of free throws to give BU a 56-54 lead with 4 seconds left. Coppin State tried a desperation 3-pointer from Hussain Williams at the buzzer, but it was no good.“I told the bench we got to be calm the whole second half because our guys were panicking a little bit out there … man there’s so much we got to do better,” Wardle said. “This group is trying … they do want to get better, they do want to work. We gotta really, really improve and improve quickly.“Our offense … is really struggling right now. … there’s no excuses. We just got to get better.”BU guard Max Gaspa’s 3-pointer with 5:27 left in the first half gave Bradley its largest lead at 25-17.But Coppin State answered with a 3 from Johnson with 4:57 left, then a stepback jumper by Johnson off a BU turnover at 3:53 cut it to 25-22.The Eagles added a pair of free throws on a technical foul, then a 3-pointer from Williams to complete a 10-1 run to a 27-26 lead over a span of 1:51.Bradley trailed 34-32 at halftime, despite holding the lead for 18 minutes in the first half and shooting 46.7% and dominating on the boards, 21-11.The Braves, however, committed 12 turnovers. Five of those were by Noah Williams and Kyle Grill off the bench.Bradley wraps up its Showdown in St. Pete appearance with a game against George Mason at noon Saturday.Bravely SpeakingBradley improved to 2-2 on the season. ... Coppin State is 1-3. ... Bradley starting guard Trevon Payton had a game-high 16 points and logged 37 minutes. ... Brendan Johnson led Coppin State with 14 points. Hussain Williams had 8 points and 8 rebounds. ... Bradley shot 23.8% (5 of 21) from 3-point range. ... Braves forward Xander Alarie had 9 points, 7 rebounds, a blocked shot and 4 steals. ... The Braves had 12 turnovers in the first half. ... Bradley head coach Brian Wardle has led the Braves to at least 20 wins in four straight seasons and seven of the last nine. Now in his 12th season, Wardle's BU team has twice earned NCAA Tournament berths and gone to the NIT the last four seasons.Poll position and Arch MadnessThe Bradley Braves men's basketball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference in the 2026-27 preseason poll.Murray State and Illinois State were picked one-two. The conference released only partial results, naming only the top six vote-getters in the 11-team lineup.But the annual pre-season poll feels a bit less relevant now with the Valley's new postseason tournament format. The only numbers that matter in the standings are the top two. The best two regular-season finishers get byes at Arch Madness. Everyone else is dropped into the wash down in St. Louis.Next up: Showdown at St. PeteBradley plays George Mason in the Showdown at St. Pete invitational in St. Petersburg, Fla., at noon on Saturday.What time does Bradley play George Mason on Saturday, Nov. 14?Date:  Nov. 14, 2026Time:  Noon CTLocation: McArthur Center, St. Petersburg, Fla.What channel is the Bradley vs George Mason game on Saturday? TV channel:  None.Radio: WMBD radio 1470 AM, 100.3 FMPlay-by-play: Dave SnellAnalyst: Chad KleineBradley vs George Mason live stream options Bradley vs George Mason will be streaming on YouTube.Play-by-play: TBAAnalyst: TBASideline reporter: TBABradley basketball vs George Mason betting odds Game lines and odds for this matchup, Bradley vs George Mason, not yet available: Spread:  TBA.Over/under: TBA.Moneyline:  TBA.Thursday: Bradley vs George Mason by the numbersKenpom ranking: Bradley, No. 239. George Mason, No. 102.EvanMiya ranking: Bradley, No. 228. George Mason, No. 95.Kenpom says: George Mason 70, Bradley 60. (BU win probability 20%).Massey computer says: George Mason 69, Bradley 66 (42%)NET ranking: N/A.CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Ranking: Bradley NR.MidMajorBasketball.com Mid-Major Ranking: Bradley NRBracketBustersHoops.com Mid-Major Ranking: Bradley NRBasketball.realgm.com Mid-Major Rankings: Bradley NRPreseason poll: Bradley No. 6 of 11 in MVC. George Mason No. 4 of 14 in A-10 Conf.Records: Bradley 2-2 (0-0), 9th in MVC. George Mason 3-0 (0-0), T-7th in A-10 Conf.All-time series: Bradley, 1-1. All-time vs: Atlantic 10 Conf: Bradley, 11-9In 2025-26: Bradley 21-13, NIT berth. George Mason, 23-10, NIT berth.Coaches: Bradley, Brian Wardle, 12th year (208-163). George Mason, Tony Skinn, 4th year (73-31).Bradley basketball scheduleRecord: 2-2, 0-0Nov. 2: Bradley 85, Monmouth College 41Nov. 7: Pacific 63, Bradley 52Nov. 10: Davidson 62, Bradley 45Nov. 12: Bradley 56, Coppin State 54Nov. 14: Bradley vs George Mason, McArthur Center, St. Petersburg, Florida, noon | YouTube ((Showdown in St. Pete)Nov. 18: Bradley vs Purdue Fort Wayne, Carver Arena, Peoria, Illinois, 7 p.m. | ESPN+Nov. 21: Bradley at Pacific, Alex G. Spanos Center, Stockton, California, 9 p.m. | ESPN+Nov. 28: Bradley vs Chicago State, Carver Arena, Peoria, Illinois, 1 p.m. | ESPN+Dec. 1: Bradley vs Loras, Carver Arena, Peoria, Illinois, 7 p.m. | ESPN+Dec. 4: Bradley at North Texas, UNT Coliseum, Denton, Texas, 7 p.m. | TBADec. 8: Bradley vs Green Bay, Carver Arena, Peoria, Illinois, 7 p.m. | ESPN+ABEGIN MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE SCHEDULEDave Eminian is the Journal Star sports editor and former Bradley Braves men's basketball beat writer. Reach him via email at deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Recap of Bradley Braves basketball win over Coppin State, plus preview of George Mason duel