SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas -- Bradley cut a 24-point first-half deficit down to one point and had five opportunities to either tie the game or take the lead, but could not get any of those five shots in the game's final 2:40 to fall, as Vanderbilt (5-0) held on for a 95-86 victory against the Braves (4-2) in the championship game of the South Padre Island Invitational Saturday night at the South Padre Island Convention Center.

Bradley senior guard Daniel Ruffin (Peoria, Ill./Central H.S.) and Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy shared game-high scoring honors with 23 points. Ruffin added a team-high six rebounds and a game-highs of six assists and three steals for the Braves to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. Ruffin was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore guard Andrew Warren (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep), who scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half. Vanderbilt's Shan Foster was named the tournament MVP after scoring 22 points. The Commodores also received 13 points from guard Jermaine Beal and 10 from guard Alex Gordon, a duo that combined to make all 15 of their free throw attempts.

Bradley was whistled for 25 personal fouls, including an intentional foul at midcourt against Theron Wilson with 31.1 seconds left in the game that all but sealed the outcome. Gordon made both free throws for an 89-84 lead and Beal made two more charity shots after the Commodores maintained possession to stretch the lead to 91-84 with just 29.9 seconds remaining. Vanderbilt came into the game shooting just 63.7 percent from the free throw line, but the Commodores drained 28-of-31 (.903) from the stripe, while Bradley was limited to just 6-of-9.

Vanderbilt ran out to a quick 8-0 lead, scoring on their first three possessions following Bradley turnovers. The opening salvo included the game's first two free throws after Bradley head coach Jim Les was hit with a technical foul for being out of the coach's box just 1:08 into the game.

Bradley fought back to within four points on six occassions through the first 10 minutes of the second half and eventually climbed to within 27-25 on a Warren 3-pointer with 7:24 left in the first half, but Vanderbilt exploded with a 23-2 run in the next 5:49 to take control. Ogilvy (nine) and Foster (six) combined for 15 points during the outburst. A pair of Warren 3-pointers and a Cole-Scott layup in the final 1:33 helped Bradley close to within 53-35 at the break. Vanderbilt made only one more field goal then the Braves in the first half, but converted 19-of-21 free throw attempts and forced the Braves into 13 first-half turnovers.

The Braves wasted little time getting themselves back into the game in the second half, opening the stanza with a 9-0 run behind four points from Ruffin, a Wilson 3-pointer and a Warren baseline jumper to pull within 55-44 with 17:14 remaining. After Vanderbilt appeared to steady itself with four straight points, Jeremy Crouch drilled consecutive 3-pointers to get the Braves back within single-digits, 59-50, with 15:17 left. Vanderbilt again appeared to regain control when Darshawn McClellan gave the Commodores a pair of 14-point leads on consecutive trips down the court, the second for a 71-57 advantage with 11:59 left.

But another 9-0 Bradley run, capped by a Ruffin 3-pointer and an old-fashioned 3-point play, pulled the Braves within 71-66 with 9:46 left. The Braves eventually pulled within one possession, 85-82, following another Ruffin trey with 3:18 left. Wilson made it 85-84 by scoring on a driving basket with 2:40 left and he had a chance to force a tie at the line to complete the 3-point play, but missed the charity shot.

Wilson rose high above the crowd to rip down a defensive rebound at the other end of the court, again giving the Braves a chance at the lead, but Warren's corner 3-pointer with just under 2-minutes left rimmed out. After a Gordon pull-up jumper in the lane gave the Commodores an 87-84 advantage, Ruffin and Warren both missed 3-point attempts, setting the stage for the game-sealing intentional foul call.

With its three-game winning streak halted, Bradley will try to start a new streak Wednesday when the Braves visit Loyola-Chicago in a 7:05 p.m. contest at the Gentile Center. Wednesday's game will be televised in the Chicagoland area by Lakeshore Public Television and Peoria-based Insight Communications will pick up the LPT broadcast.