PEORIA, Ill. - Bradley sophomore guard Walt Lemon, Jr. turned in career-highs with 24 points, five assists and seven steals, leading the host Braves (4-4) to a 79-68 victory versus Northeastern (3-4) Tuesday night at Carver Arena.
One game after suffering their first contest without a 3-point basket (0-14) in 12 years Saturday at Wyoming, Bradley drained 7-of-14 attempts Tuesday night, while snapping a 4-game losing streak and sending the Huskies to their third consecutive loss.
Junior guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards added 19 points for Bradley, while senior forward Taylor Brown turned in his Missouri Valley Conference best fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Northeastern freshman swingman Quincy Ford made the most of his first career start by pouring in a team-high 18 points and sharing team-best honors with seven rebounds and four steals for the Huskies. Northeastern also got 17 points from Joel Smith and a double-double performance - 13 points and 11 assists - from point guard Jonathan Lee.
The first half featured five lead changes before the Braves settled on a 36-33 advantage at the break. The visitors scored four quick points to open the second half, however, taking a 37-36 lead on a Ford transition dunk with 19:23 left. Following a Bradley timeout, the Braves regained the lead for good on a short Jake Eastman jumper, which launched a 20-2 outburst for the home team.
Simms-Edwards scored 10 in the Bradley run, capped by his third 3-pointer of the night with 13:04 left for a 56-39 lead.
Benefitting from a full-court press, Northeastern chipped away at the deficit, however, and closed to within 72-68 on a Smith 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining. The Huskies appeared to be in position to narrow the gap even further when Smith picked Lemon's pocket on a cross-over move near midcourt, but the speedy Bradley guard chased Smith down from behind for a return steal. Simms-Edwards was fouled on the ensuing possession and sank two free throws, turning what could have been a slim 72-70 lead instead into a 74-68 cushion with 1:22 remaining.
Simms-Edwards (4-4) and Lemon (1-2) combined to make 5-of-6 free throws in the final 40 seconds to close out the victory.
Bradley will begin fall semester final exams Thursday and will not return to action until visiting George Washington Dec. 15. The Braves will continue the East Coast swing by visiting Drexel Dec. 17, before returning home to host Western Carolina Dec. 20 at Carver Arena.
