INDIANAPOLIS ? Bradley senior forward Marcellus Sommerville scored a season-high 23 points and junior center Zach Andrews added his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but it was not enough to prevent host Butler (5-3) from pulling out a 70-60 non-conference men's basketball victory Tuesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Butler sophomore forward Brandon Polk led five Bulldogs in double-figures with 17 points and he added a team-high eight rebounds. Brandon Crone added 14 points for Butler, while Bruce Horan, A.J. Graves and Julian Betko all scored 11 points for the Bulldogs. Bradley senior forward Lawrence Wright completed the double-digit scoring with 13 points.
The Braves (3-2) rode hot shooting from the field and a 22-7 rebounding edge to a 30-26 halftime advantage, but the second half was a near exact opposite. While Bradley cooled off from the floor, shooting only 33.3 percent (9-27), Butler drained half of its 24 second-half field goal attempts, including 6-of-12 tries from behind the 3-point line. The Bulldogs also outrebounded Bradley 20-12 in the second half.
With Butler leading 38-35 4:12 into the second half, Sommerville scored 11 points during a 13-6 Bradley that gave the Braves a 48-44 lead with 9:00 left in the game. Sommerville started the surge with an old-fashioned 3-point play and capped the binge with his third 3-pointer of the night.
Held in check from behind the arc to that point, Butler suddenly heated up from long range to turn the tide. After a Julian Betko basket put an end to Sommerville's surge, Bruce Horan drained a 3-pointer with 7:34 left to put the Bulldogs in front for good, 49-48. After a pair of Betko free throws, Horan drained another trey with 6:05 left and Brandon Crone added another bomb with 4:25 remaining for a 58-51 Butler lead. Bradley got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
One game after making 35-of-44 free throw attempts in a home win versus Bowling Green, Bradley managed to make just 9-of-14 attempts Tuesday night. The Bulldogs sealed the win by converting 17-of-20 free throw attempts, including 7-of-8 in the final 1:04 to end any hopes of a Bradley rally.
Bradley entered Tuesday's game leading the Missouri Valley Conference in turnover margin the Braves were second in turnovers forced per game. The Braves, however, committed 17 turnovers and forced the Bulldogs into only 12 miscues.
The Braves will have a complete week off from competition for final exams and will return to action Dec. 14 by hosting Western Kentucky in a 7:05 p.m. contest at Carver Arena.
