Brue & Bushong Pace Braves At NIU Intercollegiate

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

2016 NIU Intercollegiate Results

Men's Golf 10/10/2016 3:26:00 PM

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Junior Ethan Brue (Chandlerville, Ill./AC Central/Illinois Central) tied for eighth for his fifth consecutive top-10 finish and sophomore Drake Bushong (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) tied for 11th as the duo helped lead the Bradley men's golf team to a sixth-place finish at the 12-team Northern Illinois Intercollegiate Monday.

Bushong had the low round of the day for the Braves with a two-over 73 at the par-71 Beverly Country Club and earned his eighth consecutive top-20 finish dating back to last season, tying for 11th overall. Brue led Bradley for the third time in five outings as a Brave, carding a four-over 75 to tie for eighth overall in the field which featured three teams ranked in Golfweek.com's top 100.

Bradley shot 303 as a team in the final round to move ahead of in-state foe SIU Edwardsville into sixth in the final team standings. The Braves finished at 913 overall in the final tournament of the fall schedule. Illinois, which is ranked #1 in the country according to Golfweek.com, finished at seven-under 845 to post an impressive 53-stroke victory.

Brue closed out a very successful fall schedule with a final round score of 75 to tie for eighth at 220. He finished his first semester as a Brave with a team-best 72.73 stroke average and placed in the top 10 in all five outings. Bushong was three shots behind Brue in a tie for 11th overall (223), after shooting a team-best two-over 73 Monday. Seven shots separated the pair during the Fall with Bushong ranking second on the squad with a 73.20 stroke average.

Junior Zach Jewell (Mapleton, Ill./Limestone/Illinois Central) wrapped up play with a six-over 77 and tied for 33rd at 232. Seven of his final eight rounds have been in the 70's or better. Sophomore Branden Mounce (El Paso, Ill./El Paso-Gridley/Illinois State) tied for 55th at 238, turning in a final round 78, while senior Bobby Jacobs (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) finished out the team scoring in a tie for 68th (249). Jacobs carded an 87 Monday.

Following Illinois in the team standings was Big Ten rival Indiana in second at 46-over 898 and Marquette took third (905). Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake finished fourth with a 54-hole total of 905 with tournament-host Northern Illinois taking fifth (910). Bradley was three shots back of the Huskies and rounded out the top half of the field in sixth (913), one shot better than seventh-place Grand Canyon (914). The Braves had an eight-shot edge on eighth-place SIU Edwardsville (921) and topped Valley rival Loyola (9^th – 932) by 19 strokes. Youngstown State rounded out the top 10 at 938, while North Dakota (11^th – 939) and Western Illinois (12^th – 943) completed the field.

The Braves will open their spring schedule Feb. 27 & 28 at the Colin Montgomerie Houston Baptist Invitational in Houston, Texas.

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