PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley basketball opened its 109th basketball season with a decisive,
76-53 win versus Eastern Illinois Friday night at Carver Arena.
Junior forward Tyshon Pickett, a junior college
transfer making his Bradley debut, led three Braves in double figures with a
game-high 23 points and he shared game-high honors with eight rebounds. In his first game since 2010-11, sixth-year
senior center Will Egolf added 11 points, as did senior guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards.
Senior swingman Jake Eastman finished
with five points on 2-for-3 shooting, but started the play of the game and
finished the night with seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Morris Woods paced the Panthers off the
bench with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Alex Austin chipped in with 13
points.
While Bradley clearly had the game in
hand, Eastman beat a Panther to a loose ball rebound by diving on the ball near
midcourt, then found Pickett who turned the hustle play into an old-fashioned
3-point play in transition to push the Braves' lead to 65-40 with 8:21
remaining.
After Eastern Illinois took a 15-9 lead on a Josh
Piper jumper with 13:24 remaining in the first half, Bradley countered with a 20-3
run to take control. Pickett pushed Bradley's
lead to 29-18 with 5:07 left in the half and Jalen Crawford's jumper with 2:37
left gave the Braves a double-digit lead, 33-22, they would not relinquish.
Bradley, which led by as many as 27
points in the second half, shot 57.7 percent from the floor and outrebounded
its visitors, 35-25. The Braves also had
a 16-11 assists-to-turnovers ratio and limited Eastern Illinois to 34.7 percent
shooting from the field.
The final 23-point margin of victory was
Bradley's best in a season-opener since an 81-54 win against Montana to start
the 1997-98 campaign and the Braves rolled to their 20th consecutive home-opening victory.
The Braves will have little time to
enjoy their 20th consecutive home-opening win, however, as they will host
Texas-Pan American Monday night on campus at Renaissance Coliseum. Former Bradley star Anthony Parker will be
the featured speaker at the first Braves
Club Game Day Luncheon, presented by Herget Bank, of the year and he will be
inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame at halftime of Monday's game and
everyone in attendance will receive a free Bradley Basketball t-shirt. Tickets still remain for Monday's game through
the Renaisance Coliseum Box Office (3090-677-2625), any TicketMaster outlet or
online at BradleyBraves.com.
