PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant (Blaine, Minn./Blaine H.S.) just missed the second triple-double in school history with 19 points, 16 rebounds and nine blocked shots, leading the Braves (16-9) to a 77-62 non-conference men's basketball victory versus Tennessee Tech (17-11) Saturday night at Carver Arena.
Saturday's game was created by participating in the 100-team pool for the BracketBusters presented by eBay. In its third year of participation, Bradley improved to 4-1 overall in the games related to the home-and-home series. Bradley will return to Tennessee Tech Nov. 29, 2006. The win was Bradley's 17th consecutive non-conference home win, the longest such streak in the Missouri Valley Conference, and gives the Braves a final 7-2 regular-season non-conference record.
O'Bryant, who set the Bradley single-game record with his nine rejections, paced four Braves in double-figures. Senior forward Lawrence Wright scored 16 points off the bench, while Marcellus Sommerville added 14 points and Daniel Ruffin chipped in with 12. Amadi McKenzie led the Golden Eagles with 16 points and seven rebounds. Belton Rivers added 15 points off the Tennessee Tech bench and Keyon Boyd was the final double-digit scorer with 11 points.
Tennessee Tech took a 39-35 lead into halftime, but the Golden Eagles struggled to get their offense going to start the second half. Bradley held their visitors to just two field goals through the first 13:01 of the period, taking control with a 24-4 run to start the half. O'Bryant scored 11 points during the run, capped by a 3-point play with 7:28 left for a 59-44 lead.
Tennessee Tech did not get closer than 13 points the rest of the game. The Golden Eagles shot just 29.4 percent (10-34) from the field in the final 20 minutes. After draining 5-of-10 3-pointers in the first period, they made only 2-of-8 attempts after the break. They also made only 1-of-3 free throws in the second half after sinking 14-of-15 attempts in the first half.
Bradley has now won three straight and seven of its last nine games heading into the last week of the regular-season. The Braves will visit Northern Iowa Wednesday night in the final regular-season men's basketball game in the history of the UNI-Dome, then will close the regular-season by hosting Drake next Saturday night.
NOTES: Cal Criddle recorded the only triple-double in the history of Bradley Basketball Feb. 28, 1970 versus Saint Louis at Robertson Memorial Field House. Criddle finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in Bradley's 82-74 win against the Billikens. In addition to setting the school single-game record, O'Bryant's nine rejections are at least the most by any Missouri Valley Conference player since Creighton's Benoit Benjamin blocked 12 shots at Bradley Feb. 2, 1985 in a triple-double performance.
