PEORIA, Ill. - Bradley senior guard Walt Lemon, Jr. scored a career-best 31 points, leading the Braves (6-9, 1-1 MVC) to a wire-to-wire win against Drake, 68-57, in their Missouri Valley Conference home opener Saturday night at Carver Arena.
Bradley scored the game's first 12 points and never looked back, snapping its season-long 7-game losing streak and spoiling the homecoming for first-year Drake head coach Ray Giacoletti, a Peoria native. Drake (10-4, 1-1 MVC) had won four straight and the Bulldogs were coming off Wednesday's 94-66 win against Evansville.
Senior swingman Aaron Hawley led Drake with a career-best 27 points off the bench, joining Lemon as the game's only two double-digit scorers. Lemon's 31 points were the most by a Brave since his former backcourt mate Dyricus Simms-Edwards scored 32 points against Northern Iowa Feb. 10, 2013.
Drake entered the game averaging just 10.8 turnovers per game, but Bradley used 10 steals to force 15 Bulldogs miscues and made efficient use of the opportunities with a 27-12 advantage in points off turnovers. Senior forward Tyshon Pickett delivered a career-best six of those steals.
Although Drake eventually closed a 17-point deficit with 13:11 left in the first half to four, 34-30, on a Hawley jumper with 18:54 remaining, Bradley quickly built the lead back to double-digits and maintained the lead by shooting 70.6 percent (12-17) from the field in the second half, its best shooting percentage in a half since going 20-for-26 (.769) against the Bulldogs Feb. 26, 2011.
The active career scoring leader in The Valley, Lemon delivered the clutch plays down the stretch to make sure Drake would not rally. He scored all of Bradley's final 14 points, including a pair of end-of-shot clock jumpers and an emphatic driving dunk with 33 seconds remaining to set the game's final score.
The Braves will close out their brief, 2-game home stand Wednesday night by hosting Missouri State in a 7 p.m. Valley tilt at Carver Arena. Bradley Basketball tickets start at just $8 and the popular entertainment act Zooperstars will perform at halftime Wednesday.
