Northern Iowa UNI 5-11, 0-5 MVC

Bradley BRAD 8-10, 3-2 MVC

Northern Iowa UNI

5-11, 0-5 MVC

Final

Jan. 11, 2017

Bradley BRAD

8-10, 3-2 MVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Northern Iowa UNI	27	34	61
Bradley BRAD	42	30	72

Box Score

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

Braves Defeat Northern Iowa, 72-61

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/11/2017 10:53:00 PM

PEORIA, IL – Sophomore Luuk van Bree scored 20 points for the first time in his career and junior Donte Thomas posted his first double-double of the season as the Bradley men's basketball team earned a 72-61 victory against visiting Northern Iowa on Wednesday night. With the win, the Braves improve to 3-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference play and 8-10 overall, while the Panthers drop to 5-11 and 0-5 against league foes.

Van Bree knocked down 8-of-13 field goals in the winning effort, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, while Thomas collected 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Braves. Freshman Darrell Brown also added 12 points for Bradley to go with seven rebounds and three assists.

The Braves started the game strong and scored the first seven points to grab the early advantage. Junior JoJo McGlaston led the early charge with five points as BU scored on its first three possessions of the game. The Panthers chipped away at the Bradley advantage and eventually knotted the game at 20 only to see the Braves quickly respond with a 15-2 run for a 35-22 lead.

Overall, Bradley scored 22 of the last 29 points of the first period to head into the intermission with a 42-27 advantage. The Braves made eight of their final nine field goals of the half, including a 4-of-5 mark from 3-point range, to claim the 15-point halftime lead – BU's largest of the season.

The Panthers opened the second stanza on a 9-2 run to pull within eight, 44-36. UNI then got as close as six points, 50-44, but back-to-back 3-pointers from van Bree quickly pushed the advantage back to double digits where it remained for the rest of the game. Overall, van Bree's 3-pointers ignited a 14-2 run with the sophomore forward scoring eight points during the stretch for a 64-46 Bradley advantage.

The Braves then held on for the 11-point victory, 72-61, to earn their third Missouri Valley Conference victory of the season – matching its entire total from a season ago.

Bradley made 55.1 percent of its field goals in the winning effort, while also converting 8-of-17 3-point attempts. Northern Iowa, meanwhile, shot 33.9 percent from the field with a 10-of-33 mark from behind the 3-point line.

Spencer Haldeman led the Panthers with 16 points but made just 5-of-19 field goals on the night.

The Braves look to continue with their momentum on Saturday, traveling to face Indiana State. Game time is slated for 12 p.m. CT and can be seen live on ESPN3.

Game Notes: The 20 points by van Bree are one more than his previous career-best total of 19, set last season against TCU … Thomas posted the fifth double-double of his career with his 13 boards one shy of his personal best, set against Loyola Chicago in the 2016 Missouri Valley Tournament … Bradley shot 50 percent or higher for the sixth time this season – the Braves made half of their shots only three times in the last two seasons combined … Bradley ended a five-game losing streak in the series and its 11-point victory is its largest over the Panthers since Jan. 15, 2012 … Brown now has at least 10 points in his first five career MVC games, the first BU rookie to do so since Mitchell Anderson during the 1978-79 season.

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