Final Score (W-L)          1   2   F
Bradley (5-26, 3-15 MVC)  28  30  58
ISU (14-16, 8-10 MVC)     37  40  77
Attendance: 3,700 | Officials: Roland Simmons, Tim Fitzgerald, K.B. Burdett

The Lead
Indiana State senior guard Devonte Brown scored a game-high 24 points in his final career home game, Ieading host Indiana State to a 78-58 Missouri Valley Conference win versus Bradley in the regular-season finale for both teams. Indiana State used slow Bradley starts to both halves to take control of the game, outscoring Bradley 9-0 to start the first half and 9-2 to start the second.

Series Update
Indiana State earned its seventh straight home win against Bradley and improved to 23-17 all-time at home against the Braves. In the 84th meeting in the all-time series, Bradley still maintains a 51-33 advantage. First-year Bradley head coach Brian Wardle fell to 1-2 against Indiana State, including a 1-1 record with the Braves. Sixth-year Indiana State head coach Greg Lansing improved to 9-3 against Bradley, including a 6-0 home record versus the Braves.

Slow Starts
Despite a solid defensive start by Bradley, Indiana State scored the game's first nine points as the Braves started 0-for-3 with four turnovers. Bradley did not score until Ronnie Suggs beat the shot clock with a 3-pointer with 14:20 left in the first half. Bradley had only six field goal attempts in the game's first 9:30 (2-for-6) as the Braves suffered from seven turnovers and five Indiana State offensive rebounds. The Sycamores were 6-for-16 from the field during the first 9:30, leading to a 17-5 advantage on the scoreboard.

After Bradley had cut a 13-point deficit to as little as four, Indiana State stretched a 37-28 halftime lead to 15 points by scoring the first six points of the second half. Bradley started the second half 1-for-7 from the floor with two turnovers heading into the first media timeout of the half. Indiana State split two free throws coming out of that timeout with 15:34 left in the game for a 46-30 lead. Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye hit consecutive 3-pointers to slice the deficit back to 10, but Indiana State answered with a 7-0 run to regain control.

Suggs Surge
Freshman Ronnie Suggs went on a personal 9-0 that cut a 31-18 deficit to 31-27 on his 4-point play with 2:42 left in the first half. Suggs matched his career-best for 3-pointers in a game by making 4-of-5 in the first half on his way to 15 points in the first 20 minutes. While Suggs was 5-for-7 from the field in the first half, the rest of the team was 3-for-14 (.214) shooting in the first half. The momentum did not carry over to the second half, however, as Suggs was 0-for-7 from the floor in the second half.

Leaders
In addition to Brown's game-high 24 points, the Sycamores got 11 points from Brenton Scott. Bradley was led by freshman guard Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye's 19 points, while fellow freshman guard Ronnie Suggs finished with 15. Sophomore forward Donte Thomas just missed his fourth double-double, finishing with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Van Bree Absence
Bradley freshman forward Luuk van Bree, the team's third-leading scorer at 8.5 ppg entering Saturday's game, did not play in the first half Saturday, the result of being late for the team bus from the hotel to the arena. As the second half started, van Bree remained in the locker room with an illness that began Friday.

Sycamore Senior Day
Saturday's regular-season home finale was the final home game for a trio of Indiana State seniors – forwards Brandon Burnett, Khristian Smith and guard Devonte Brown. The trio combined for 35 points and 15 rebounds. Bradley's lone upperclassman, senior guard Ka'Darryl Bell, scored five points in 11 minutes.

Youthful PT
Bradley entered the game with 10 freshmen among its 12 active players, meaning the Braves once again played the entire 40 minutes with at least three freshmen on the floor together. Bradley has played all 1,250 minutes this season with at least three freshmen on the floor. Eight Bradley freshmen totaled 165 of the game's 200 minutes and the Braves freshmen now have played 5,184 of the season's 6,250 (82.9 percent) available individual minutes. Indiana State's two freshmen, Laquarious Paige and Emondre Rickman, totaled 14 minutes for the Sycamores.

Up Next
Bradley had already locked up the No. 9 seed for next week's Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship. Bradley's first-round opponent, the No. 8 seed, may not be determined until Sunday morning, depending on the result of tonight's Missouri State-at-Southern Illinois game and potentially the RPI rankings posted by The RPI Report Sunday morning. The Braves will face either Loyola Chicago or Missouri State in Thursday's 6 p.m. tournament opener at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.