PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley sophomore guard Jeremy Crouch (Pekin, Ill./Pekin H.S.) scored a career-high 18 points off the bench, all in the first half, and the Braves (3-1) won their 14th consecutive non-conference home game, cruising to a 93-64 victory versus Bowling Green (2-4) in front of 9,121 fans Saturday night at Carver Arena.
Bowling Green guard Martin Samarco scored a game-high 27 points and shared game-high honors with seven rebounds, but he got little help from his teammates. Crouch was one of four Braves to score in double-figures. Tony Bennett contributed 16 points, Zach Andrews added 12 points and seven boards in his first career start and Lawrence Wright chipped in with 10 points.
After taking a 50-39 lead at halftime, highlighted by an Andrews follow slam on a Bennett miss at the buzzer, Bradley's defense shut down the Falcons in the second period. Bowling Green shot just 32.3 percent (10-31) from the field in the second half, including a 1-for-10 effort from 3-point territory. Bradley hit the Falcons with a 17-6 surge in the first 4:29 of the second half to take control.
While the Falcons were struggling with their shot, Bradley was red hot from behind the 3-point arc and even heated up at the free throw line. Sparked by Crouch's 3-for-4 effort in the first half, the Braves drained 10-of-20 attempts from behind the arc. Bradley, which entered the game shooting just 63.6 percent from the free throw line, sank 35-of-44 (.795) attempts Saturday night. The 44 free throw attempts were the most by Bradley since a 36-for-48 effort in the 2003-04 season-opener versus Louisiana-Monroe at Carver Arena.
Wright sank all eight of his free throw attempts, while redshirt freshman center Sam Singh drained 9-of-10 charity shots for his career-best nine points.
In addition to the shooting numbers, Bradley outrebounded Bowling Green, 40-32, the first time in four games the Braves have won the battle of the boards. Bradley also finished with a +7 turnover margin and the Braves recorded assists on 22 of the team's 24 field goals. The assist ratio marked the second time this season the Braves scored only two unassisted baskets.
Bradley, which has split its first two road games versus Chicagoland teams DePaul and Loyola-Chicago, will return to the road Tuesday to visit Butler (4-3). The Midwestern rivals have played each of the three previous seasons with the home team winning each contest.
