SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Missouri State forward Kyle Weems scored 20 of his team's first 22 points and ended with a game-high 30 points, leading the host Bears (13-3, 3-2 MVC) to an 88-69 Missouri Valley Conference victory versus Bradley (7-8, 2-3 MVC) Saturday afternoon at JQH Arena.

Despite the early onslaught by Weems, Bradley trailed just 37-33 heading into the final media timeout before the break, but the Bears outscored their visitors 15-8 in the final 3:54 to take a 52-41 lead into halftime.  Missouri State then scored the first five points of the second half and Bradley never got its deficit into single digits the rest of the way.

Junior guard Andrew Warren led four Braves in double-figures with 16 points.  Taylor Brown and Sam Maniscalco each scored 12 for the Braves and Will Egolf added 11.  While Warren (5-8), Egolf (5-7) and Maniscalco (3-5) combined to make 13-of-20 (.650) field goal attempts, however, the rest of the Braves combined to shoot just 20.7 percent (6-29).

Missouri State also featured a quartet of double-digit scorers.  In addition to Weems, reserve guard Nafis Ricks pumped in 15, while Jermaine Mallett and Adam Leonard each chipped in 11 points for the Bears.

Missouri State controlled the glass, outrebounding the Braves 41-27, including a 17-8 advantage in offensive rebounds that led to a 24-4 margin in second-chance points.

Having already played three of its first five Missouri Valley Conference games on the road, the Braves face another stiff challenge Tuesday night when they visit league-leading Northern Iowa in a 8:00 p.m. (CST) game that will be televised nationally on ESPNU.  The Bradley University Alumni Association is sponsoring a nationwide viewing party for Tuesday night's game with 21 parties in 18 cities from coast-to-coast.  For more information regarding Tuesday night's viewing parties, visit BradleyBraves.com and click on the BU Coast-to-Coast graphic in the top left corner of the page.