PEORIA, Ill. -- Butler freshmen Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack shared game-high scoring honors with 20 points apiece and the visiting Bulldogs improved to 8-0 for the third consecutive season by riding a hot start to an 87-75 men's basketball victory at Bradley (4-4) Wednesday night at Carver Arena. The result snapped a 15-game regular-season home winning streak by the two teams in the series, which is now tied at 11-11.
Bradley freshman guard Eddren McCain scored a career-high 18 points, while sophomore guard Sam Maniscalco also scored a career best with 17 points. Senior forward Theron Wilson added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Braves. Butler junior guard Willie Veasely completed the double-digit scoring with 13 points.
After Bradley scored the game's opening points on an alley-oop slam by Chris Roberts, Hayward triggered Butler's quick start by answering with the first of his five first-half 3-pointers, giving the Bulldogs the lead for good 1-minute, 10-seconds into the game. Hayward scored Butler's first eight points, as well as 17 of his team's first 36 en route to a 15-point bulge, 36-21, with 4:16 left in the first half.
Led by Hayward's effort, Butler shot 59.3 percent from the field, including 8-for-16 from 3-point range, in the first half. Bradley shot just 40.7 percent (11-27) from the floor in the first half and failed to take advantage of its opportunities at the free throw line by missing 6-of-11 attempts, including the front end of three 1-and-1 trips. The combination contributed to Butler's 44-31 lead at the break.
The deficit proved to be too much for the Braves to overcome, but the home team did not go down without a fight in the second half. Bradley sliced the deficit to single digits, 55-47, on a Roberts bucket in the paint with 12:17 remaining and freshman Taylor Brown pulled the Braves to within five, 57-52, on a layup with 10:35 remaining. The teams exchanged a pair of 5-0 spurts, but after Bradley's Dodie Dunson got the Braves back to within five points, 62-57, with 8:27 remaining, the Bulldogs answered with an 11-0 run to regain its double-digit margin. Consecutive 3-pointers by Mack and Zach Hahn gave Butler a 73-57 lead with 5:29 remaining and the Braves got no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
While Bradley heated up from the floor in the second half by making 14-of-27 shots after the break, the Bulldogs cooled only slightly and finished the game 29-of-54 (.537) from the field. Notably, Butler canned 13-of-27 (.481) 3-point attempts to finish one shy of the Carver Arena record for 3-pointers made by an opponent. The Braves could not take advantage of Butler's 26 personal fouls, shooting just 18-for-31 (.581) from the free throw line for the game.
Bradley will try to snap its two-game skid Sunday when the Braves host Southeast Missouri State in a 1:05 p.m. tip at Carver Arena. Tickets for Sunday's game range from $9-20 and may be purchased online at www.BradleyBraves.com, or in person during regular business hours at the Shea Stadium and Carver Arena box offices.
