STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Mississippi State (20-13) hit Bradley (22-13) with a late knockout punch and advanced to the quarterfinals of the MasterCard National Invitation Tournament with a 101-72 victory Saturday afternoon in front of 5,733 boisterous fans at Humphrey Coliseum.
Mississippi State point guard Jamont Gordon led the home team with his 10th career double-double, dishing out 10 assists to complement a game-high 20 points. Five Bulldogs scored in double-figures, highlighted by center Charles Rhodes, who contributed 17 points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots. Reginald Delk added 15 points, while Dietric Slater and Barry Stewart each chipped in with 13. Bradley senior guard Will Franklin led four Braves in double figures with 15 points. Senior center Zach Andrews added 13 points and team-best nine rebounds, while junior guards Jeremy Crouch and Daniel Ruffin added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
After trailing 44-38 at the half, Bradley recovered from double-digit deficits three times in the first 11-and-a-half minutes of the second half. The last time, the Braves used a 9-0 run to cut a 69-53 deficit to 69-62 with 8:33 left in the game. After calling timeout to stem the tide, Mississippi State got three consecutive 3-pointers from Stewart, Slater and Delk, fueling a 26-4 avalanche in a span of 5-minutes, 44-seconds that buried the Braves. Stewart's game-high fourth 3-pointer gave Mississippi State a 95-66 lead with 2:30 remaining.
Bradley came into Saturday's game ranked second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.424) and fourth nationally by averaging 10.0 treys per game. The Braves needed 30 atttempts to get their nine 3-pointers, 30.0 percent, against Mississippi State's defense and the Bulldogs countered by draining 12-of-27 (.444) attempts from long range. Mississippi State also outrebounded the Braves, 51-32, and outscored Bradley 50-26 in the paint.
The 101 points scored by Mississippi State were the most Bradley had allowed since a 107-92 loss at #23 Southern California in the 2000-01 season-opener and were the most scored by the Bulldogs since dropping 104 on Jackson State Dec. 15, 2005.
By draining three of his eight 3-point attempts, Crouch ended the season by making 83-of-166 from long range, setting the school single-season record for 3-point field goal percentage with his even 50 percent effort. In addition, Andrews made 6-of-8 field goal attempts against Mississippi State, ending his career as the school's all-time leader in field goal percentage (.625), while Franklin hit 3-of-5 3-point tries to end his career as Bradley's all-time 3-point field goal percentage leader (.420).
Saturday's game was the final game for four Bradley seniors ? Danny Adams, Andrews, Franklin and J.J. Tauai. The quartet leaves an impressive legacy: by following the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance with this year's NIT Sweet 16 run, Bradley reached the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since a four-year streak from 1994 through 1997 and won postseason games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1994 and 1995. Even more notably, the back-to-back 22-win seasons is a first for Bradley Basketball since 1959 (25-4) and 1960 (27-2), while the 44 wins the last two years are the most since the Braves won 49 games in 1985-86 (32-3) and 1986-87 (17-12).
Bradley will celebrate its 2006-07 season next Monday, March 26, during the annual Men's Basketball Postseason Banquet at the Michel Student Center. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with the dinner program scheduled to begin at six o'clock. Tickets are $15 for children and $25 adults. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the Braves Club Office at (309) 677-2667.
