PEORIA, Ill. -- A 14-5 start to the game gave Bradley an early lead and the Braves never looked back as they cruised to a 74-56 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball victory against Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Carver Arena. Sophomore Taylor Brown scored 10 of his team-high 16 points in the first seven minutes of the contest to highlight Bradley's early run and he finished with his fourth double-double of the year by adding a career-best 12 rebounds.
Missouri State (13-5 overall, 3-4 MVC) scored the first basket of the game, but Brown rattled off 10 of Bradley's (8-9 overall, 3-4 MVC) first 14 points of the contest to highlight a 14-2 Braves run. Bradley never relinquished the lead and pushed its advantage to as many as 17 points (36-19) in the closing minutes of the first half before settling for a 38-23 lead at the break.
The Bears trimmed Bradley's lead to 13 points (64-51) with 7:14 to play, but Bradley answered with 10 straight points and held Missouri State without a field goal for the next 6:33 of play. The Braves extended its lead to as many as 23 points (74-52) and cruised to the 74-56 win to snap a two-game losing skid.
All five Bradley starters scored in double figures, led by Brown's 16 points. Brown also snared a career-best 12 rebounds to help Bradley to a 43-28 rebounding edge. The Braves shot 52.8 percent from the field, including 54.5 percent in the second half, while limiting Missouri State to 34.4 percent shooting. Sophomore Will Egolf was 7-of-11 from the field en route to his career-best 14 points. Juniors Sam Maniscalco (13 points) and Andrew Warren (11 points), along with senior Chris Roberts (10 points) each scored in double figures for the Braves.
Adam Leonard paced Missouri State in scoring with 17 points as he connected on 5-of-11 three-point attempts. Kyle Weems,who scored 24 of Missouri State's first 29 points on the way to a 30-point night in last week's 88-69 win against Bradley in Springfield, Mo., was the only other MSU player to reach double-figures with 10 points, but he did not get his first field goal attempt Saturday until 9:33 was left in the first half.
Bradley returns to action Wednesday with a 7:05 p.m. game at Southern Illinois. Wednedsay's game against the Salukis will be televised throughout Central Illinois (Channel 74) and Chicago (102) on Comcast cable systems. Missouri State will face Indiana State on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo.
