PEORIA, Ill. -- Facing the top defensive team in the Missouri Valley Conference, Bradley (15-9, 9-7) turned in its most-efficient offensive game of the season and dealt league co-leader Southern Illinois a 72-60 defeat in front of 9,613 fans Tuesday night at Carver Arena.
The Salukis entered the game leading the Valley in scoring defense (56.7 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.398) and turnovers forced per game. Bradley scored 72 points on a season-best 59.5 percent shooting from the field, was credited with 20 assists on its 25 field goals and committed only 12 turnovers. Flexing a little defensive muscle of their own, the Braves also forced 20 Southern Illinois turnovers, 14 from steals.
The first 2,500 fans to arrive at Carver Arena Tuesday night received a Marcellus Sommerville “bobblehead” doll and the Bradley senior forward responded with one of his best games of the season. Sommerville led three Braves in double-figures with 24 points, his best point total in a home game this season. Sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant added 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field and senior guard Tony Bennett chipped in with 11 points. Salukis sophomore forward Randal Falker led the visitors with a career-best 24 points, making 10-of-11 field goal attempts, and he added a game-high nine rebounds. Jamaal Tatum added 12 points for the Salukis.
Although he did not score a point (0-for-1 from the field), Bradley junior guard J.J. Tauai set the tone of the game. The third guard in Bradley's three-guard starting lineup, Tauai finished with career-highs of eight assists and five steals as the Braves improved to 7-3 since he was inserted into the starting lineup 10 games ago. Tauai also shared team-high honors with six deflections and was the primary defender on Tony Young, who finished with nine points and four turnovers.
Bradley never trailed Tuesday, scoring the game's first points on an O'Bryant 3-point play 1:08 into the contest. Sommerville sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around one by Young, then Bennett took his own steal the distance for a transition basket and an 11-3 Bradley lead with 16:23 left in the half. After Southern Illinois closed the gap to three points on three occassions, Sommerville scored five quick points in a 6-0 Bradley run to give the Braves a 25-16 lead with 5:22 left in the half.
The Braves shot 61.1 percent (11-18) from the field in the first half, but eight turnovers and six offensive rebounds by Southern Illinois helped the Salukis remain within 31-25 at the break.
After SIU trimmed the deficit to 35-31 on a Young trey with 18:17 left in the game, O'Bryant scored on consecutive baskets to start a 7-0 Bradley run that pushed the lead to 42-31 with 14:30 left. The lead twice grew to as many as 17 points before Southern Illinois mounted one last charge. Tatum scored nine points in an 11-2 Salukis run that cut the deficit to 63-55 with 1:13 remaining, but Will Franklin stopped the surge with two free throws and Lawrence Wright followed with a steal and dunk for a 67-55 lead with 54 seconds left.
Bradley, which improved to 11-1 at home this season, will step out of league play to host Tennessee Tech Saturday at 7 p.m. at Carver Arena. The Braves own the Valley's longest non-conference home winning streak at 16 games and will host the Golden Eagles as part of the agreement for participating in the 100-team pool for the BracketBuster presented by eBay.
