Bradley BRAD 8-11, 3-3 MVC

Indiana State INS 7-11, 1-5 MVC

Bradley BRAD

8-11, 3-3 MVC

Final

Jan. 14, 2017

Indiana State INS

7-11, 1-5 MVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Bradley BRAD	22	49	71
Indiana State INS	44	37	81

Box Score

Bob Hunt - Photographer

Braves Rally Falls Short at Indiana State

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/14/2017 3:07:00 PM

TERRE HAUTE, IN – Despite trimming a 24-point deficit down to eight in the second half, the Bradley men's basketball team couldn't overcome hot early shooting from Indiana State on Saturday afternoon as the Sycamores held on for an 81-71 victory. The loss evens the Braves' record at 3-3 in Missouri Valley play and to 8-11 overall, while Indiana State improves to 7-11 and 1-5 against league foes.

Freshman Darrell Brown led the Braves with 20 points on the afternoon. The rookie hit the 20-point mark for the second time during his freshman campaign, making 8-of-17 shots and 3-of-5 from 3-point range, while also adding a team-best five assists.

Junior Donte Thomas just missed recording his second-straight double-double with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while freshman Nate Kennell also added 12 points for the Braves.

The Sycamores started the contest very strong from behind the arc, making nine of their first 16 attempts to race out to a 33-12 advantage (27 of the 33 points coming via the 3-pointer). Bradley cut its deficit to 13, 35-22, only to see Indiana State then finish the half on a 9-0 run for a 44-22 lead at the break.

Overall, Indiana State made 46.7 percent of its shots in the opening 20 minutes of action, including an 11-of-21 mark from 3-point range, to take the 22-point edge into the intermission.

The Braves, however, would fight in the second half and turned a 24-point deficit (46-22) into single digits with over six minutes remaining. With the Sycamores ahead by 21, 62-41, with 9:45 left in regulation, Bradley went on a 15-2 run in three minutes to pull within eight. Sophomore Antoine Pittman and Brown capped the stretch with 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, making the game a 64-56 contest with 6:45 remaining.

Bradley twice had an opportunity to pull even closer but missed two additional 3-point chances. Matt Van Scyoc then responded with a 3-pointer on the other end to push ISU's advantage back to 11 and the Braves were never back within single-digits as the Sycamores secured the 81-71 victory.

The Braves finished the contest with a 39.6 percent shooting day and a 9-of-18 mark from behind the arc. Indiana State recorded a shooting percentage of 43.4 and hit 14-of-32 3-point attempts.

Van Scyoc led all scorers with 23 points, while Jordan Barnes also added 20 points for ISU.

Bradley is back in action on Wednesday night with a home contest against I-74 rival Illinois State. The schools are set to battle at Carver Arena at 8 p.m. with the game shown live on CBS Sports Network.

Game Notes: Indiana State's 14 3-pointers are a season high for a Bradley opponent, topping the 13 scored by Wichita State … Brown extended his streak of scoring 10 points in each of his Missouri Valley games to 10 points, the longest streak by a Brave since 1978-79 … Bradley lost for just the second time when scoring 70 points this season (now 7-2) … Thomas has scored in double figures in each of the last two games after not doing so in any of the team's first 17 contests of the season … The Braves have lost their last eight trips to Indiana State.

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