Delaware DELAWARE 1-1

Bradley BRAD 2-0

Delaware DELAWARE

1-1

Final

Nov. 14, 2017

Bradley BRAD

2-0

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Delaware DELAWARE	27	26	53
Bradley BRAD	31	30	61

Box Score

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

Braves Move to 2-0 after Win over Delaware

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 11/14/2017 10:26:00 PM

Peoria, Ill. – Strong defense and a dominance on the offensive glass keyed the Braves to a 61-53 victory over Delaware at Carver Arena on Tuesday night. The Braves move to 2-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season with the victory, while the Blue Hens see their record evened at 1-1.

Junior forward Luuk van Bree led Bradley with 15 points, making 5-of-10 buckets and 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point line.

The Braves also used strong rebounding days from senior Donte Thomas and sophomore Koch Bar to dominate second-chance points by a 22-8 margin. Each collected five offensive rebounds with Thomas posting a team-best 10 boards and Bar finishing with 10 points and six rebounds overall.

Sophomore Darrell Brown also reached double figures with 11 points to go with three assists.

That 2-0 feeling #TheMovement pic.twitter.com/NYqiLBljxH
— Bradley Basketball (@bradleyumbb) November 15, 2017

The Braves defense showed their strength on the night early to race to the halftime lead. After falling behind by a 15-6 margin, Bradley used a 16-2 run to take a 22-17 advantage. During the 9:06 stretch, the Braves held Delaware to just one field goal, while forcing the Blue Hens into the same amount of turnovers as shot attempts (six).

Bar also keyed the stretch with six points as Bradley really utilized its rebounding edge in the first half to claim a 31-27 intermission lead. The Braves took advantage of 14 offensive rebounds for a 14-5 edge in second-chance points during the first 20 minutes of action.

The teams traded punches in the second half and after an early eight-point lead for the Braves, neither team would lead by more than a single possession from the 12:09 mark for the next eight minutes. With just over six minutes remaining, van Bree broke a deadlock at 43 with his third 3-pointer of the night. The long-distance shot ignited a stretch where the junior scored seven of the team's 12 points as Bradley stretched its advantage to eight points, 55-47, with 2:46 left in regulation. The defense also keyed the defining run, not allowing a Delaware basket for a 6:31 span as the 12-4 streak led to the eight-point victory.

Bradley finished the game with a 33.3 percent shooting night but another strong effort from 3-point range (42.9 percent) proved to be the difference. The Braves also forced their second-straight opponent to shoot less than 40 percent as the Blue Hens made 39.6 percent of their chances and just 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from beyond the arc.

Eric Carter led Delaware with 18 points and 12 rebounds but the Braves shut down UD's top scorer and 2017 CAA Freshman of the Year, Ryan Daly, who had just three points on 1-of-11 shooting.

Bradley looks to continue its winning ways with a trip to the Bahamas for the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase. The Braves tip-off the three-game tournament on Friday against Vermont at 10 a.m. CT.

Game Notes: The Braves forced three more field goal droughts for four-plus minutes in the victory for six total in two games … Bradley allowed 55 or fewer points in back-to-back games for the first time since an 80-38 win against Eureka and 55-47 setback to UC Irvine during the 2014-15 season … It also marks the first time Bradley allowed less than 60 in its first two games since 2006-07 season and the 106 total points allowed is the team's fewest through two games since the 1998-99 season (94 points) … The Braves ended a 29-game losing skid when shooting less than 40 percent (last win was the first game under Coach Wardle), while winning for the first time in 20 contests when shooting a lower percentage than its opponent … Bradley's 14 first-half offensive rebounds were more than all but two full 40-minute games last season … The Braves evened the series at 2-2 with Delaware after losing in each of the last two seasons.

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