DES MOINES - Bradley junior guard Andrew Warren scored a game-high 24 points and sophomore forward Taylor Brown posted his second career double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Braves (6-5, 1-0 MVC) to a 67-59 Missouri Valley Conference road victory at Drake (5-8, 0-1 MVC) Tuesday night at the Drake Knapp Center.
Warren, who also pulled down a career-best eight rebounds, scored 10 points during a 15-4 Bradley run that helped the Braves pull away from a 44-44 tie to a 59-48 advantage with 3:15 remaining. The Braves then made 8-for-8 free throws in the final 57 seconds to secure the win and end their season-long, 3-game losing streak. Junior guard Sam Maniscalco made four of those final eight free throws to finish with 14 points. The trio of Warren, Brown and Maniscalco combined for 55 of Bradley's 67 points.
Bradley entered the game last in the 10-team MVC by shooting just 64.4 percent from the stripe, but the Braves made 18-of-21 (.857) free throw attempts at Drake. Drake entered the game leading The Valley in both 3-point field goal percentage (.406) and treys made per game (9.4), while Bradley entered leading the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.285). Although the Bulldogs made nine treys Tuesday night, they attempted 32 triples for 28.1 percent.
Bradley made only five 3-pointers, in 16 attempts, but Warren buried three treys in a span of 2-minutes, 33-seconds midway through the second half to help the Braves battle back from a 5-point deficit. The second and third treys in that span started Bradley's tie-breaking surge.
Drake senior guard Josh Young led three Bulldogs in double-figures with 14 points. Reserves Aaron Hawley and Craig Stanley added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Braves will return to action Friday night by hosting Southern Illinois (8-2, 1-0 MVC) in their Valley home opener. The 7:05 p.m. tip at Carver Arena will be Bradley's first New Year's Day game since 1989 and their first home game on the first day of the year since 1953. The first 4,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bradley car flag, courtesy of Methodist Medical Center. A limited number of tickets ($9-20) for Friday's game against the Salukis remain and may be purchased at the Peoria Civic Center Box Office, all TicketMaster outlets or online at www.BradleyBraves.com.
