CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Bradley's quick start and late rally were not enough to prevent Southern Illinois (15-3, 6-0) from pulling out a 67-59 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball victory Wednesday night at SIU Arena.
Southern Illinois overcame an early 19-6 deficit to earn its 31st consecutive Valley home win and the Salukis extended their overall home court winning streak to 19 games. Senior center Joshua Warren led the way, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds to pace four double-digit scorers for the Salukis. Guard Tony Young added 15 points off the bench, while Darren Brooks and LaMar Owen each scored 10 points for SIU.
Bradley junior forward Marcellus Sommerville (Peoria, Ill./Peoria H.S.) led the Braves with team highs of 16 points, nine rebounds and a career-best six assists. Freshmen guard Jeremy Crouch (Pekin, Ill./Pekin H.S.) and Daniel Ruffin (Peoria, Ill./Peoria H.S.) added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The Braves (10-5, 3-4) started fast as six different players scored during the 19-6 burst to start the game. After Ruffin drained a 3-pointer for a 22-11 lead with 8:59 remaining in the half, however, the Braves suddenly went ice cold. Turning up the defensive pressure, Southern Illinois forced Bradley into 10 turnovers in the final nine minutes and outscored the Braves 22-2 the remainder of the half on the way to a 33-24 lead at the intermission.
The Salukis built the lead to 43-29 on a Warren basket with 14:10 remaining before the Braves began their rally. Sommerville scored 11 points during a 17-9 surge, capped by a rare four-point play that pulled Bradley to within 52-46 with 5:13 to go. Crouch added a 3-pointer with 4:39 left that brought the Braves within a single field goal, 52-49, and when Tony Bennett (Chicago, Ill./Westinghouse H.S.) scored with 3:00 to go Bradley had narrowed the gap to 55-53.
Bradley had three shots to either take tie or take the lead during the next 1:18, but could not come up with the big basket and a pair of late turnovers killed the rally. Southern Illinois sealed the win by making six free throws in the final 34 seconds to cap a 17-for-17 effort at the free throw line. Bradley was just 4-for-8 from the stripe and twice missed the front end of 1-and-1 opportunities.
The Braves will try to extend their own 14-game home winning streak Saturday when they host Northern Iowa (13-4, 4-2) in a 7:05 p.m. contest at Carver Arena. The two-game home stand will conclude Wednesday when Bradley hosts Creighton (12-6, 4-3) in another 7:05 p.m. tilt at Carver Arena.
