PEORIA, Ill. - Christian Kirk drew a charge with Walt Lemon, Jr. driving to the basket for the potential tying basket with 7 seconds remaining and Missouri State (12-9, 5-4 MVC) made four free throws in the final 6.1 seconds to survive a scare from Bradley (6-15, 1-8 MVC), 51-48, Saturday night at Carver Arena.
Bradley got 43 of its 48 points from the trio of Taylor Brown (game-high 17 points), Walt Lemon, Jr. (13) and Jordan Prosser (13), who also snared a game-high 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Caleb Patterson came off the bench to pace Missouri State with 16 points, while Kyle Weems added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Bears.
The teams were locked in a defensive struggle from the beginning and combined to shoot 25.0 percent from the field in the first half as Bradley took a 20-19 lead into the break.
Though Bradley shot 56.5 percent (13-23) from the field in the second half, the Braves failed to gain more than a 6-point advantage after halftime. Missouri State only marginally improved its shooting to 39.3 percent (11-28) in the second half, but the Bears made up for its cold-shooting from the field by outscoring Bradley 8-0 at the free throw line in the half.
Missouri State came into the game averaging 19.1 personal fouls per game and allowing the opposition to shoot 21.6 free throw attempts per contest, but the visitors were whistled for only 13 fouls, sending the Braves to the line for just six attempts.
After Brown gave the Braves a 27-21 lead by scoring on a driving basket with 17:04 left, the Bears responded with an 8-0 run on three straight "and-1" possessions. Patterson converted the first old-fashioned 3-point play with 15:26 left, Weems did the trick with 13:48 to go and Patterson's basket with 13:11 left put the Bears in front, 29-27.
The lead changed hands six more times, but after Anthony Downing put Missouri State on top, 45-43, with 3:37 left, the Braves managed to force an eighth tie, but could not get over the hump. Patterson scored on a putback basket out of a scrum for a loose ball with 1:09 left to finally give the Bears the lead for good, 47-45.
Brown missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the key with 52 seconds left and Downing missed a 3-point attempt at the end of the shot clock with 14 seconds remaining, setting up Lemon's chance for the tie.
Bradley close out its January schedule with a pair of road games next week, Tuesday at Southern Illinois and Saturday at #18 Creighton. Both games will tip at 7:05 p.m. and will be televised throughout Central Illinois on WTVP World. The Braves will return home Feb. 1 to host Evansville in a 7 p.m. game at Carver Arena.
