Drake DU 7-17, 5-7 MVC

Bradley BRAD 9-16, 4-8 MVC

Drake DU

7-17, 5-7 MVC

Final

Feb. 04, 2017

Bradley BRAD

9-16, 4-8 MVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Drake DU	23	49	72
Bradley BRAD	41	38	79

Box Score

Bob Hunt - Photographer

Bradley Basketball Tops Drake, 79-72

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/4/2017 6:13:00 PM

Peoria, Ill. – The Bradley men's basketball team earned a 79-72 Missouri Valley Conference victory against Drake on Saturday afternoon in front of 5,815 fans at Carver Arena. The Braves improve to 9-16 overall and 4-8 against league foes, while the Bulldogs drop to 7-17 and 5-7 in MVC action.

Junior Donte Thomas recorded his third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while the two BU rookie point guards directed a strong offensive performance for the Braves – combining for 12 assists and just three turnovers. Darrell Brown finished with 20 points, making 14-of-15 free throws, and matched his career-best with five assists, while Jayden Hodgson recorded a personal-high seven assists to go with six points.

Junior JoJo McGlaston and freshman Koch Bar also scored in double figures for the Braves, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Thomas set the tone early for the Braves as he scored the team's first nine points of the game as Bradley grabbed an early 9-4 advantage. After Thomas did his work in the paint, the 3-point shooting opened up for BU and the Braves responded by hitting their next five shots from beyond the arc. McGlaston nailed back-to-back treys and was soon followed by sophomore Antoine Pittman, freshman Nate Kennell and sophomore Luuk van Bree before a layup by Thomas game him double-digits in the first 11 minutes as Bradley opened up an early 26-11 advantage.

The first-half Bradley lead continued to grow to 19 points before the BU headed into the locker room with an 18-point advantage – its largest of the season – with the Braves ahead, 41-23. Bradley made 48.1 percent of its shots in the opening 20 minutes with a 6-of-11 performance beyond the arc, while holding the Bulldogs to 31.0 percent shooting and a 2-of-13 3-point clip.

In the second stanza, Bradley grew its advantage to 20 points before the Bulldogs slowly started to eat away at it. A 7-0 Drake run pulled the team within 13, 50-37, with 14:54 remaining and an additional 8-1 spurt made the contest an eight-point game, 63-55, with just 6:29 left in regulation. Finally, one final 8-1 run brought the Bulldogs within five at 70-65 – the closest Drake was in the game since the Braves held a 12-7 lead.

Bradley, however, would secure its fourth MVC win of the season – topping its total from the previous season – by knocking down 9-of-12 free throws in the game's final two minutes to earn the 79-72 victory.

The Braves finished the game by shooting 40.7 percent in the winning effort and making 8-of-20 3-point field goals. Meanwhile, Bradley held the Bulldogs to just 38.1 percent shooting with a 7-of-27 mark from beyond the arc.

Reed Timmer led Drake with 13 points but made just 3-of-13 field goals on the day.

Bradley looks to continue its winning ways with a home contest against Indiana State on Wednesday. The schools are set to meet at Carver Arena with first tip scheduled for 8 p.m.

Game Notes: Thomas has reached double figures in points in five of the last eight games after not doing so once in the season's first 17 contests … Hodgson made both of his 3-point attempts and is now shooting 55.2 percent from 3-point range in MVC games after making just 21.4 percent in non-conference action … Hodgson is also the first Brave with seven assists since Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye also had seven against Evansville on Feb. 13, 2016 … Brown reached 20 points in a game for the third time in his career … In their four MVC wins, the Braves have held each of their opponent to under 40 percent shooting, while their foe has made at least 42 percent in each of the eight losses … The Braves have won the last two games against Drake and now lead the all-time series, 84-62 – marking the most games against any single school (146) and the most wins (84).

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