PEORIA, Ill. -- In the return match-up of the two Missouri Valley Conference teams that advanced to the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, Bradley (14-7, 5-4) avenged a loss at Wichita State Jan. 4 with a 78-63 victory against the Shockers (12-8, 3-6) in front of the a sold out crowd of 11,080 Saturday night at Carver Arena.
Senior center Zach Andrews (Rancho Cordova, Calif./Cordova H.S.) led the way for the Braves with his fourth double-double of the season, finishing with game-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds. Junior point guard Daniel Ruffin (Peoria, Ill./Central H.S.) added 17 points and eight assists, senior guard Will Franklin (Houston, Texas/Alief Hastings H.S.) chipped in with 17 points and senior guard Danny Adams (Metamora, Ill./Metamora H.S.) contributed 15 points off the bench. Kyle Wilson led three Wichita State players in double-figures with 15 points, while his frontcourt mates Ryan Martin and PJ Couisnard each added 14 points.
Bradley started the game shooting red hot -- the Braves made their first six field goal attempts and nine of their first 10 en route to a 20-9 lead 6:05 into the game. The first of Adams' five 3-pointers gave the Braves their first double-digit lead, 17-7, and his second provided the 20-9 margin.
After an exchange of baskets, Bradley broke the game open with an 11-0 run that extended a 24-16 lead to 35-16 with 6:46 left in the half. Andrews started the run with a pair of interior baskets, and after Ruffin scored in transition from a steal and Franklin buried a 3-pointer, the Bradley big man capped the run with a two-handed slam. Andrews scored 17 of his 21 points on 7-for-8 shooting in the first half and the Braves finished the period shooting 18-for-27 (.667) from the floor.
Wichita State steadily chipped away at the deficit for the first 11 minutes of the second half and eventually pulled to within 57-53 when freshman Gal Mekel sank two free throws with 9:03 left. Franklin ended Wichita State's 17-4 run by sinking his third 3-pointer of the night with 8:47 left. He added an 8-foot leaner with 5:57 remaining to put Bradley up 65-57. Adams followed with his final 3-pointer 32 seconds later for a 68-57.
The Shockers had one more mini surge left, closing to within 68-61 with 4:16 remaining after four Wilson free throws, but Ruffin iced the game by igniting a 10-0 burst. The Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year candidate started the clinching run with two free throws, then drove the lane for a scoop shot with 2:58 left. After Couisnard missed two free throws, Ruffin broke down the Shocker defense and hit Franklin for a corner 3-pointer with 2:07 left before he and Andrews ended the surge by sinking 3-of-4 free throws.
Having played four of its previous five games on the road, Bradley will complete its two-game home stand Wednesday at 7:35 p.m. by hosting Interstate 74 rival Illinois State at Carver Arena. Bradley is attempting its second “Red Out” promotion Wednesday night and will distribute red “rally towels” to everyone in attendance. Special game t-shirts also will be distributed to Bradley students. Only a limited number of tickets are available for Wednesday's rivalry game and may be purchased from the Bradley Ticket Office in Robertson Fieldhouse (309-677-2625), the Peoria Civic Center box office or any TicketMaster outlet.
