Bradley BRAD 12-19, 7-11 MVC

Drake DU 7-23, 5-13 MVC

Bradley BRAD

12-19, 7-11 MVC

Final

Feb. 25, 2017

Drake DU

7-23, 5-13 MVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Bradley BRAD	30	52	82
Drake DU	26	48	74

Box Score

Bob Hunt - Photographer

Braves Extend Streak with 82-74 Win at Drake

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/25/2017 4:42:00 PM

Des Moines, Iowa – The Bradley men's basketball team finished the regular season with a third-straight victory – a first in Missouri Valley Conference action in seven years – earning an 82-74 victory at Drake on Saturday afternoon. The Braves finished the regular season tied for sixth place with a 7-11 record and 12-19 overall, while the Bulldogs fall to 7-23 and 5-13 in conference action.

Junior Donte Thomas and freshman Darrell Brown led the Bradley attack by combining for 37 points with 35 coming after the halftime break. Thomas posted his fifth double-double of the season, matching his career high with 22 points (20 in the second half) and adding 12 rebounds, while Brown scored all 15 of his points in the second stanza.

Freshman Koch Bar also played strong in the post for the Braves, just missing a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds to go with two blocks. Overall, Bradley dominated the interior, outscoring the Bulldogs, 32-14, in the paint and outrebounding Drake, 48-24, which led to a 23-8 edge in second-chance points.

The Braves never trailed in the game but had to fight throughout as BU answered every time Drake pulled even or got close. Bradley led by as many as eight points early in the game, 11-3, only to see the Bulldogs eventually pull even at 15. Another Bradley run stretched its advantage to seven before Drake knocked down a three at the buzzer for a 30-26 Braves edge at the break.

Sophomore Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye and freshman Nate Kennell led the team with seven points each at the intermission, while Thomas and Brown combined for just two points as Bradley took the four-point lead into the locker room. Overall, Bradley shot 32.3 percent in the first half, while holding the Bulldogs to just 24.1 percent shooting.

In the second stanza, Bradley again jumped out to an early lead and held a 39-31 edge following a transition dunk by Thomas. Again, Drake would fight back and tied the game at 48 but Brown knocked down a jumper, Thomas finished a dunk after an offensive rebound and Brown added two free throws for a six-point lead, 54-48.

Drake would pull within one point one final time, 57-56, but sophomore Luuk van Bree nailed a 3-pointer after a timeout and Thomas finished a three-point play to quickly push the lead back to seven, 63-56, with 6:18 remaining. The Bulldogs were never within five the rest of the game as Bradley calmly made 19-of-20 free throws in the second half (95 percent) to secure its third-straight win.

The Braves shot 57.7 percent in the second half (15-of-26) and finished with a 43.9 percentage overall. Bradley also made a season-best 93.1 percent of its free throws on the day, making 27-of-29 from the charity stripe.

Drake made 38.2 percent of its chances on the day, including a 12-of-32 mark from beyond the arc, with Graham Woodward posting a team-best 22 points for the Bulldogs.

Bradley now turns its attention toward the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Braves will earn the six or seven seed at the tournament, depending on a tiebreaker in tomorrow's RPI report with Missouri State. With the six seed, the Braves open with the third seed (which will be determined after games played today) on Friday in the quarterfinals. With the seven seed, Bradley will again play Drake in Thursday's opening round.

Game Notes: Bradley last finished as high as sixth in the final MVC standings in 2009-10, when it tied for fifth … The Braves also last won three-straight MVC games during the 2009-10 campaign, winning a trio of league games from Jan. 16 to Jan. 23, 2010 … Thomas matched his career high in points, also scoring 22 against Mississippi on Nov. 28, 2015 … Bradley's +24 rebound margin is a season high and the most for the Braves since at least 1993 … The Braves ended a six-game losing streak at the Knapp Center with its last victory coming on Dec. 9, 2009 … BU's 23 second-chance points are seven more than in any other game this season.

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