PEORIA, Ill. - Bradley senior forward Taylor Brown recorded his seventh career double-double by leading all players with 26 points and a career-best 14 rebounds, powering the Braves (3-0) to a 78-69 win versus North Dakota (2-1) Saturday night at Carver Arena.
Brown also shared game-high honors with four assists, made off with a steal and played 36 turnover-free minutes. Sophomore point guard Walt Lemon, Jr. added 19 points, sophomore center Jordan Prosser scored 15 and junior guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards chipped in with 10. North Dakota guard Troy Huff put up a double-double of his own with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Patrick Mitchell added 15 points and Aaron Anderson scored 13.
North Dakota's three-guard combo of Anderson, Jamal Webb and Huff came into Saturday's game averaging 42.5 points on a combined 60.8 percent shooting from the field. Though the trio combined for 40 points Saturday, they combined to shoot just 14-for-38 (.368) from the floor against the Braves.
Outside of a 5-for-5 performance by Prosser, cold shooting was the theme of the first half for both teams. Bradley closed the half on an 11-2 run, however, and took a 34-25 lead into the break when Lemon converted a driving layup just before the horn. While Bradley's closing run pushed its first-half shooting percentage to .400 (14-35), North Dakota made just 8-of-35 (.229) first-half field goal attempts.
The Fighting Sioux came out hot to start the second half, however, and quickly got back into the game. A Jordan Allard fastbreak layup gave the visitors a 44-43 lead with 13:28 left and UND again claimed the lead, 49-48, on a Mitchell jumper with 10:45 remaining.
Brown's baseline jumper wtih 10:08 left gave the Braves the lead for good, 50-49.
Two Anderson free throws with 5:55 left got North Dakota to within 58-56, but Brown answered with a tough shot in the lane to launch an 11-3 Bradley surge that put the game away. Junior swingman Jake Eastman, who registered a career-best 10 rebounds, capped the outburst with an interior bucket on an assist from Brown with 2:09 remaining for a 69-59 lead.
Though Bradley shot just 61.3 percent from the free throw line, the Braves iced the game by making 9-of-12 attempts in the final 1:46. The Braves also made 14-of-23 (.609) field goal attempts in the second half, finishing at 48.3 percent overall, compared to 34.7 percent for North Dakota.
Bradley will wrap up its season-opening, season-long 4-game home stand Tuesday (7 p.m.) when the Braves host Wofford in the second round of the Chicago Invitational Challenge at Carver Arena. The tournament will move to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill., for the final two rounds, where Bradley will take on Wisconsin Friday and either BYU or Nevada Saturday.
