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, according to sports reports.
Bradley rallied in the second half and held on in the final seconds to earn its first victory against an NCAA Division-I opponent in the 2026-27 season, securing 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,” Wardle added according to the postgame coverage.
Brendan Johnson sank a pull-up jumper with 38 seconds left to give Coppin State a 54-53 lead during a dramatic finish.
The Braves answered when Coppin State’s Jamari Piercy inadvertently tipped the ball into his own net while contesting a tip-in bid by BU forward Xander Alerie, giving Bradley a 55-54 lead.
The play went under video review and was upheld, with the basket credited to Alerie.
Alerie subsequently split a pair of free throws to push the advantage to 56-54 with four seconds left on the clock.
Coppin State attempted a desperation three-pointer from Hussain Williams at the buzzer, but the shot missed.
Bradley improved to 2-2 on the season, while Coppin State dropped to 1-3 following the tightly contested matchup.
Bradley starting guard Trevon Payton posted a game-high 16 points and logged 37 minutes on the court.
Brendan Johnson led Coppin State with 14 points, and Hussain Williams contributed eight points and eight rebounds.
The Braves will wrap up their appearance at the tournament with a game against George Mason at noon Saturday.
“The upcoming matchup” will be broadcast on “WMBD radio” with play-by-play commentary from Dave Snell and analysis from Chad Kleine, per local radio listings.
The contest is also scheduled to be streamed live on YouTube for fans following the invitational tournament from home.