Bradley’s 108 mile trip to DeKalb may have helped the Braves in their 76-74 overtime victory over the NIU men’s basketball team Wednesday at the Convocation Center.

Instead of opting for the usual movie on the bus ride, Bradley coach Jim Les put in a tape of NIU’s 84-69 victory Saturday on the road against DePaul.

“Usually we just let the guys relax,” the three-year coach said, “but this time I thought it was more important that they see that whole game.”

The result was what Les called a “silence of respect” for a Huskies team that would exchange the lead with Bradley 15 times.

Bradley broke a 57-57 tie with 52 seconds remaining on a three-point shot by Marcellus Sommerville. NIU guard Cory Sims responded with a three-point basket that would send the game to overtime with the score 60-60.

The 6-foot-1 junior also scored NIU’s final points of the overtime period, driving to the hoop to close the score to 75-74 in favor of the Braves.

The Huskies forced a turnover, but Sims was called for an offensive foul on the ensuing play, and Sommerville’s free-throw was enough to give the Braves a two-point lead with two seconds left.

NIU guard Anthony Maestranzi sprinted down the court and shot a long three-pointer as time expired, but it deflected off the backboard as the buzzer sounded.

“People in the arena may go away thinking about possessions at the end of regulation and at the end of overtime,” NIU coach Rob Judson said, “but the possessions in the first half and early in the second half are just as important.”

Sims led the Huskies with 17 points, making both his three-point attempts and shooting 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.