CARBONDALE, Ill. - Taylor Brown scored a game-high 21 points, but Southern Illinois (7-14, 4-6 MVC) countered with four double-digit scorers and cruised to a 77-60 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball victory against Bradley (6-16, 1-9 MVC) Tuesday night at SIU Arena.
The SIU win snapped a 5-game winning streak for the road team in the in-state rivalry, the longest road team winning streak in any series in Bradley history, and halted the Salukis' 3-game losing streak overall. Bradley dropped its third straight overall and its seventh consecutive Valley road game since last year's 69-66 win at SIU Arena.
Mamadou Seck scored 13 of his 15 points to share team-high scoring honors with Dantiel Daniels, who added 10 rebounds for a double-double effort. Justin Bocot scored 11 points off the SIU bench and Jeff Early chipped in with 10. Dyricus Simms-Edwards was Bradley's only other double-digit scorer, finishing with 13.
Bradley missed 10 of its first 11 shots, allowing the hosts to race out to a 13-2 lead. While Brown made his first three attempts, the rest of the team combined for an 0-for-10 effort as the Salukis maintained their 11-point advantage through the second media timeout with 10:30 remaining in the half.
Shayok Shayok's corner 3-pointer coming out of the timeout cut the deficit to 17-9 and a 6-for-6 shooting start by Brown allowed the Braves to pull within 21-17. A trio of 3-pointers by Justin Bocot triggered a 14-4 Salukis outburst, however, and the hosts cruised into halftime with a 40-24 lead.
While Brown scored 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field, the rest of the team combined to make just 3-of-22 (.136) field goal attempts in the first half. Meanwhile, 10 different Southern Illinois players made first-half baskets in an overall 17-for-30 (.567) shooting effort.
Bradley forced three turnovers on SIU's first three possessions and opened the half with an 8-3 surge that closed the gap to 43-32 by the first media timeout of the second half with 15:55 left. Three consecutive turnovers, including two on run-outs, however, allowed the Salukis to counter with a 5-0 run that pushed their lead back to 16, 50-34, and the lead eventually grew to 19, 57-38, with 9:03 remaining.
Bradley will play its fifth road game in a 7-game stretch Saturday night when the Braves visit #14 Creighton at CenturyLink Center. The Braves will return home to host Evansville Feb. 1 in a 7 p.m. tip at Carver Arena.
