Bradley guard Dodie Dunson suffered a painful end to his season Sunday night.

He was fouled in midair while driving the baseline in the second half. Trying to break his fall, he planted his left arm on the floor. But before he could react, one of the Idaho State players landed full force on his forearm, breaking both the ulna and radius bones.

As horrific as that sounds, Dunson’s pain was eased with the knowledge that, since the injury occurred so early in the season, he can apply for a medical hardship and have another full year to play.

“One more year of college doesn’t sound too bad,” he told BU coach Jim Les upon hearing his good fortune in a bad situation. He’ll undergo surgery Tuesday.

Dunson’s extra year will help the Braves bridge a one-year scholarship gap until 6-foot-7 forward Sean Harris joins the program in the fall of 2011-12 following his Mormon mission to Honduras.

On Sunday, Dunson was on his way to one of his top offensive games at BU. Entering the game off the bench in the first half when the Braves trailed 8-2, Dunson made five of his first six shots — three of them 3s — to catapault Bradley into the lead. He scored 14 of the Braves’ first 23 points and had the 14 in just 5:44.

Dodie being Dodie, he apologized to his teammates for getting hurt and not being available for this season. While guard is the one position the Braves could afford an injury with their depth at the position, they don’t have anybody else quite like Dunson.

He’s a tri-captain, a leader looked up to by his teammates. Fans love him because he’s always got a smile on his face and a hearty handshake off the court. They often get both on the court as well.

As hard as he works on the court, he’s just as tireless off it, overcoming a severe dyslexia problem to post a 4.0 grade-point average in the spring semester.

At least he can still be part of the team this year, cheering the Braves on from the  the sideline.

“He’ll still bring a tremendous lift to this team emotionally with the energy and enthusiasm he brings,” Les said.