TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State sophomore guard Jake Odum scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, leading the host Sycamores (10-3, 1-1 MVC) to a 77-66 win against Bradley (5-9, 0-2 MVC) Saturday afternoon at the Hulman Center.
Bradley senior guard Taylor Brown paced the visitors with 18 points, but could not prevent the Braves from dropping their fifth straight overall and fourth in a row against Indiana State.
Bradley came into the game averaging only 15.7 fouls per game and allowing the opposition to score just 9.8 points per game at the free throw line, but the Braves were whistled for a season-high 24 fouls and lost three players to disqualification, including their two season scoring leaders -Brown with 4:44 left and Walt Lemon, Jr. with 2:57 to go. The Sycamores took advantage by draining 22-of-31 attempts to match the most free throw points for a Bradley opponent this season.
Offensive rebounding was a bigger problem for the Braves Saturday afternoon, however. Despite shooting just 34.4 percent (11-32) from the field in the first half, Indiana State was able to secure a 35-35 tie at the break by turning 11 offensive rebounds into a 12-0 advantage in second-chance scoring at the break. Bradley was unable to keep pace when the Sycamores heated up in the second half.
The game remained tied through the first media timeout, 45-45, until a 12-2 Indiana State outburst gave the Sycamores a 55-47 lead with 12:57 left. Indiana State stretched the lead to double-digits, 68-58, for the first time on an Odum jumper with 5:02 remaining.
The Braves went without a field goal from 11:39 until Dyricus Simms-Edwards scored on a scoop shot in the lane with 4:10 left to get the Braves within 68-60. A Simms-Edwards free throw pulled Bradley to within 68-61 with 3:34 left, but the Braves got no closer the rest of the way.
Bradley will start the new year with a pair of home games, Wednesday night versus Southern Illinois and Saturday evening against league preseason favorite Creighton. Saturday's game will be the annual Hall of Fame game - the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2012 will include men's basketball player Rob Dye, soccer players Bryan Namoff and Stephen Wylie, softball player Kim Suffield and women's cross country/track runner Angie Zimmerman. Saturday's game also is slated to feature the 1,000th broadcast for Voice of the Braves Dave Snell on 1470 WMBD.
