PEORIA, Ill. - D.J. Balentine overcame a back injury midway through the second half to score a game-high 22 points and Egidiju Mockevicius turned in his 12th double-double of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds, leading Evansville (12-4, 2-2 MVC) to a 66-56 win at Bradley (6-11, 1-3 MVC) Saturday afternoon at Carver Arena.

Evansville countered the cold-shooting Braves by making 53.3 percent (24-45) of its field goal attempts to snap Bradley's 6-game home winning streak.

Bradley scored the first four points of the second half to pull into a 36-36 tie and the Braves were still within striking distance, down just 49-47 following a Josh Cunningham free throw with 10:14 remaining. But Bradley missed its next 13 field goal attempts until a Tramique Sutherland putback basket with 1:07 left. By that point, the Purple Aces were trying to milk a double-digit lead to the finish. Bradley finished the game shooting 32.1 percent (18-56) from the field, including just 6-for-28 (.214) in the second half.

Omari Grier came off the bench to pace three Braves in double figures with 15 points. Sutherland added 12 points and a game-high five assists, while Josh Cunningham just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Mislav Brzoja completed the game's double-digit scoring with 10 points for the Aces.

Bradley will return to action Tuesday by hosting #23 Northern Iowa in a 7 p.m. game at Carver Arena. If the Panthers hold their national ranking, Bradley will be shooting for its first win against a top 25 ranked team since a 68-59 victory against then No. 18 UNI Feb. 13, 2010.