EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Four Braves finished in double figures as Bradley (12-11 overall, 7-6 MVC) earned its second Missouri Valley Conference series sweep of the season with an 83-63 victory over Evansville (6-17 overall, 0-13 MVC) at Roberts Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore forward Taylor Brown (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody H.S.) scored the first seven points of the game as Bradley jumped out to a 7-0 run. A three-point bank shot by junior guard Sam Maniscalco (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick H.S.) pushed the Braves' edge to 10, while junior guard Andrew Warren (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) added a layup with 4:55 left in the half to give Bradley a 13-point lead, 30-17.
A one-handed slam by sophomore center Anthony Thompson (Houston, Texas/Klein Forest H.S.) helped keep the Bradley lead at 12, 32-20, as the Braves took a 37-26 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Brown and Warren combined to score 18 of Bradley's first 22 points after halftime as the Braves took a 15-point lead, 59-34, with 12:38 remaining. A steal by freshman guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S.) followed by a Brown dunk extended Bradley's advantage to 26, while a Sam Singh (Ozark, Mo./Ozark H.S.) layup gave the Braves their largest lead of the game, 65-37.
A thunderous back-door slam from senior guard Chris Roberts (Fort Worth, Texas/Dunbar H.S.) and a three by senior guard Ryan Phillips (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods H.S.) highlighted the closing minutes of the second half as Bradley earned the win, 83-63.
Warren led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting and also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. Brown added 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting in just 22 minutes, while Maniscalco (15 points) and Roberts (11 points) also finished in double figures. Ten different players scored for the Braves as Bradley shot 62.5-percent for the game, including an eye-popping 75-percent in the second half.
Bradley will host I-74 rival Illinois State Tuesday, Feb. 9 in a 7:05 p.m. tip at Carver Arena. Tuesday's rematch with the Redbirds will be a "Blackout" game, with fans in attendance receiving a special black Bradley Basketball t-shirt.
