PEORIA, Ill. -- IPFW season scoring leader Luis Jacobo had only one point heading into the final minute of the game, but the wing 6-foot-5 swingman buried a go-ahead 3-pointer from the right corner with 30 seconds left, leading the visiting Mastodons (8-4) to a 65-61 win at Bradley (5-5) Tuesday night at Carver Arena.
The loss is Bradley's third straight and the Braves have dropped five-of-six overall since their 4-0 start to the season. Walt Lemon Jr., who scored a game-high 14 points, failed to draw iron on a tough drive just outside the left side of the lane for a chance to tie the score with five seconds left. After grabbing the rebound, IPFW center Steve Forbes sank two free throws to complete the 4-point margin of victory.
Isaiah McCray led four IPFW players in double figures with 12 points. Forbes added 10 rebound to his 11 points, while Michael Kibiloski also scored 11 and Joe Edwards chipped in with 10 points for the Mastodons. In addition to Lemon's 14 points, Omari Grier added 13 points for the Braves, while reserve guard Ka'Darryl Bell contributed a career-best 11 points off the bench and Tyshon Pickett completed the double-digit scoring with 10 points.
After Bradley used a 9-0 run to take a 14-7 lead, IPFW countered with an 18-6 surge to forge a 25-20 lead with 4:21 left in the half. Though the Braves pulled even, 26-26, on a Pickett jumper, Kibiloski followed with one of his three 3-pointers and the Mastodons held the lead until an Auston Barnes putback basket for a 61-60 Bradley advantage with 40.9 seconds left.
The Braves once again suffered from cold shooting, finishing the game 23-for-57 (.404) from the field, including 3-for-15 (.200) from the 3-point line. Bradley has shot just 36.4 percent (67-184) from the field, including 8-for-56 (.143) from 3-point territory, during its current 3-game slide, all losses by no more than six points. The Braves were shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 33.0 percent from 3-point territory prior to the current slide.
Bradley will get a chance to recuperate during a 10-day break for Fall semester final exams, then will return to action with two games in Las Vegas at the South Point Holiday Classic: Dec. 20 versus Portland and Dec. 21 against Pacific. The Braves will return home to host South Florida Dec. 28 in the final non-conference game of the season.
