Bradley Hosts Missouri State in Carver Finale

Bob Hunt - Photographer

Men's Basketball 2/21/2017 1:06:00 PM

Bradley (10-19, 5-11 MVC) vs. Missouri State (16-13, 7-9 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Feb. 22 • 7 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Missouri State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb
Tickets	Ticketmaster \| (309) 677-2625

The Braves host Missouri State on Wednesday in the final home game of the season at Carver Arena. The team's Senior Night contest is slated to begin at 7 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN3.

PROMOTIONS
• Every home game includes Kaboom!'s Korner in the Great Hall lobby. Wednesday's contest features the Basketball Jam Bounce House and face painting from Wild Design Company.
• Sherman's is hosting a halftime contest for students where the top prize is a 42" television.
• Also, the last chance to buy a ticket for the Braves Club Raffle is on Wednesday right until tip off. The top prize is $25,000 in cash, while there are additional prizes ranging from $500 to $5,000.

SENIOR NIGHT
• The Braves will honor three members of the program prior to Wednesday's contest.
• Alex Foster will be recognized as the forward is set to graduate this May from Bradley. A transfer from Texas Tech, Foster has played in 16 games this season with 34 total points and 17 rebounds.
• Bradley will also honor its two senior managers in Charlie Barchett and Andrew Hegseth.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley rallied from a 14-point deficit to earn an 84-72 victory over Evansville on Saturday, ending a three-game losing streak.
• The win jumped the Braves into seventh place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 5-11 mark. Overall, BU is 10-19 this season.
• Freshman Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 12.4 points per game and 82 assists, while junior JoJo McGlaston is second on the team with 8.6 points per game.
• Junior Donte Thomas leads the Braves with 6.5 rebounds per game, including a mark of 7.6 in conference play.
• As a team, Bradley is making 41.9 percent of its field goals with a 36.3 percent 3-point mark.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Braves and Bears have played 56 times since Missouri State joined the MVC prior to the 1990-91 season.
• Missouri State owns a 37-19 advantage against Bradley and has won 11 of the last 13 meetings between the two schools.
• The Bears have won the last four meetings in the series, including a 76-62 victory in Springfield earlier this season. Bradley cut a 16-point second-half deficit down to four with six minutes remaining but could not get any closer as Missouri State held on for the win.
• Junior Donte Thomas led the Braves with 17 points and seven rebounds, while freshman Jayden Hodgson scored a career-best 16 points in the loss.

ABOUT THE BEARS
• Missouri State is currently tied for fifth in the MVC standings with a 7-9 conference mark.
• Overall, the Bears are 16-13 this season.
• Missouri State is coming off a 76-73 victory at Drake on Saturday with the win coming off four-straight losses and six of the last seven (although three of the six losses were by just one point and another coming by three).
• Alize Johnson averages a double-double for the Bears with 14.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.
• Dequon Miller is second on the team with 12.4 points to go with a team-leading 114 assists.

ON THIS DATE
Record on Feb. 22: 19-8
Feb. 22 Highlight: Hersey Hawkins put on a show in a 122-107 victory at Detroit on Feb. 22, 1988. The eventual National Player of the Year, Hawkins totaled 63 points on 21-of-28 shooting (including three 3-pointers and 18 free throws). Hawkins had 35 alone in the first half as Bradley raced to a 12-point lead at the intermission and never looked back. His 63 points remain an MVC record and are tied for the 10th-most in NCAA history versus a Division I school.

BRAVES RALLY FOR VICTORY
• Bradley earned its fifth MVC win of the season on Wednesday thanks to a late double-digit rally.
• BU faced a 14-point deficit versus Evansville with 14 minutes remaining in regulation before earning the 84-72 victory.
• Bradley finished the game on a 43-17 run, making 13 of its final 20 field goals (6-of-9 from 3-point range) and holding the Aces to 4-of-17 shooting.
• It marked the team's largest rally since overcoming a 17-point deficit against Evansville to earn a 56-53 win on Feb. 7, 2015.

ASSISTING THE VICTORY
• Perhaps the biggest key to the comeback victory on Saturday was the team's ability to share the ball.
• Bradley collected 20 assists in the win, compared to just eight turnovers. In the second half, BU had 13 assists to zero turnovers to rally for the victory.
• The 20 assists mark the most for the Braves this season. It is also the team's highest total since March 23, 2013 against Tulane and the most in an MVC game since Jan. 6, 2010 versus Indiana State.
• The Braves also recorded at least 20 assists and less than 10 turnovers for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign at Illinois State (20 assists/5 turnovers).
• Sophomore Luuk van Bree and freshmen Darrell Brown and Jayden Hodgson combined for 17 assists and just three turnovers, including a career-best six helpers by van Bree and Brown.

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