Braves Meet UTSA on Saturday in Bahamas

Missouri Valley Conference

Men's Basketball 11/17/2017 8:17:00 PM

Bradley (2-1) vs. UTSA (2-1)
Game Details	Saturday Nov. 18 • 10 a.m. CT • Nassau, Bahamas • Kendal Isaacs Gym
Webcast	FloHoops
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| UTSA
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball teams looks to quickly regroup from its first loss of the season with its second contest at the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase, meeting UTSA on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT.

ISLANDS OF THE BAHAMAS SHOWCASE
• Bradley meets UTSA after both teams lost their opener on Friday. Bradley fell to Vermont by a single point, 65-64, while the Roadrunners lost to Coastal Carolina, 83-69.
• The loss marked the second-straight year Bradley fell in its opening round by a last-second field goal as Hofstra defeated BU at the 2016 Gulf Coast Showcase, 92-90.
• The winner on Saturday will play for fifth-place on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT, while the loser will battle for seventh-place on Sunday at 10 a.m. CT.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 2-1 on the season after suffering its first loss of the season on Friday, falling by just one point, 65-64, to defending America East champion, Vermont.
• The Braves have posted wins against IUPUI (68-53) and Delaware (61-53) this year.
• Sophomore Nate Kennell leads the team with 12.3 points per game and is one three Braves averaging double figures. Darrell Brown is averaging 11.0, while Donte Thomas is averaging 10.0.
• Thomas also leads BU with 8.3 rebounds per game, while guard Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye is second with 7.0 boards per game.
• Overall, the Braves are shooting 40.9 percent in their first three games with a 49.0 percent mark from 3-point range.
• BU has especially been strong on the defensive end, allowing only 57.0 points per on 35.4 percent shooting and 24.1 percent from distance.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Braves and Roadrunners are meeting for the first time on the basketball court.

BRAVES VERSUS CONFERENCE USA
• Bradley is 48-16 all-time against current schools from Conference USA, including a 30-6 record against former Valley member North Texas.
• The Braves last faced a conference team during the 2009 CIT, losing to Old Dominion, 82-73.

ABOUT THE ROADRUNNERS
• UTSA won its first two games of the season against East Central and Texas State before falling in the opening round versus Coastal Carolina.
• Jhivvan Jackson led the Roadrunners with 19 points off the bench on Friday as three scored in double figures.
• Overall, Jackson leads the team with 16 points a game, while Keaton Wallace (13.3) and Giovannni De Nicolao (11.7) also average double figures.
• Byron Frohnen leads the team with 7.0 rebounds.
• The Roadrunners are averaging 80.0 points per game so far, shooting 37.8 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR CHILDS
• Freshman Elijah Childs has impressed so far during his rookie campaign and saved his best for the opening round on Friday.
• Childs led Bradley with 12 points and 11 boards in just 15 minutes of action off the bench, recording his first collegiate double-double.
• Childs is the first BU freshmen to post a double-double in one of his first three career games since NBA lottery pick Patrick O'Bryant in 2004-05.
• In three games this year, Childs is averaging 6.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.

3-POINT THREAT
• The reason why sophomore Nate Kennell has upped his game this year and is the team's leading scorer is due to the 3-pointer.
• Kennell has already led the team in scoring twice (in three games) after not doing so once as a rookie last year.
• The sophomore leads the Braves with 10 3-pointers on 21 attempts for a 47.6 percentage. Of his 28 shots on the year, 21 are from beyond the arc (75 percent).

DEPTH ON DISPLAY
• Three games played and three games into the season, the starting five has yet to outscore the team's reserves.
• BU's bench have averaged 33.0 of the team's 64.3 points this season.
• Including ties, Nate Kennell has twice led the team in scoring off the bench, while Luuk van Bree and Elijah Childs have accomplished the feat once.
• Overall, the Bradley bench has outscored its opponents by a combined 99-46 margin.
• Last season, the Bradley reserves averaged 25.3 points per game, the first time it eclipsed 20 points from the bench since the 2008-09 season.

UNDER 40 DEFENSE
• The Braves have excelled this year in limiting their opponents good scoring chances.
• Through three games, Bradley has yet to allow a team to shoot 40 percent in a game.
• It marks the first time that Bradley has opened the season by forcing three-straight sub-40 percent games since the 1998-99 season.
• Dating back to last season, Bradley has now not allowed a team to reach the mark in six games.
• Overall, Bradley owns a defense that is allowing only 35.4 percent of its baskets to go in.

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