EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Tramique Sutherland scored 18 points, including a go-ahead jumper with 41 seconds left, after reserve center Nate Wells provided a spark off the bench, lifting Bradley (8-17, 3-9 MVC) to a 56-53 Missouri Valley Conference win at Evansville (16-8, 6-6 MVC) Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center.

To say Bradley's back was against the wall is an understatement:

• The Braves, who had lost 15 consecutive games away from home, faced a 17-point deficit (37-20) with 17:09 remaining.
• Season scoring leader Warren Jones was back in Peoria serving the final game of his 3-game suspention.
• Season rebounding leader Josh Cunningham, who snared a first-half best six rebounds, did not return from the locker room in the second half due to an asthma attack.
• Senior forward Auston Barnes indicated to the officials he may have broken his nose after being head-butted in the lane early in the second half (his nose was visibly swollen postgame).

Enter Wells. The 7-foot-1 fourth-year junior center had never scored more than four points in a game and had not attempted a single 3-pointer in 49 career games. Wells bagged a pair of treys and scored eight points during a 24-3 Bradley run in a span of just 6-minutes, 43-seconds. Omari Grier's 3-pointer with 10:32 left gave the Braves their first lead, 42-40, and Barnes completed the outburst with a jumper for a 44-40 advantage with 9:50 remaining.

With a box-and-one defense holding Evansville in check and working with a short bench, Bradley tried to shorten the game from that point, often waiting until 15 seconds left on the shot clock to initiate offense. The strategy paid off as the Braves shot 50 percent (15-30) from the field in the second half and prevented Evansville from getting into a rhythm.

After Duane Gibson made two free throws for the Purple Aces to forge a 50-50 tie with 1:12 left, Sutherland put the Braves in front for good by burying an 18-foot jumper from the left wing with 41 seconds left. Barnes rebounded a Mislav Brzoja miss on the ensuing Evansville possession and the Purple Aces had to commit four fouls in the backcourt to finally put the Braves into the bonus.

Ka'Darryl Bell made two free throws with 11 seconds left for a 54-50 lead and Sutherland iced the game with two more free throws with three seconds left for a 56-50 advantage.

Evansville outscored the visitors 17-4 in the game's first 5:05 and the Purple Aces built their lead to 17 points, 27-10, with 4:19 left in the half, before settling for a 30-16 halftime margin. Bradley, which entered the game second in The Valley by committing only 11.9 turnovers per game in conference play, committed 12 first-half turnovers while shooting just 6-for-20 (.300) from the field, 0-for-8 from 3-point range.

The Braves flipped the tables in the second half, shooting 15-for-30 from the floor and 5-for-10 from 3-point range, while committing only three second-half turnovers. Meanwhile, Evansville made just 8-of-21 (.381) field goal attempts in the second half and committed 11 second-half turnovers to finish with 17 miscues in the game.

Bradley will try for a second straight road win Wednesday when the Braves visit Drake for a 7 p.m. game at the Drake Knapp Center.