Evansville UE 12-9, 2-6 MVC

Bradley BRAD 14-7, 4-4 MVC

Evansville UE

12-9, 2-6 MVC

Final

Jan. 20, 2018

Bradley BRAD

14-7, 4-4 MVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Evansville UE	25	28	53
Bradley BRAD	36	30	66

Box Score

Braves Win 12th-Straight Home Game, Defeat Evansville, 66-53

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/20/2018 11:11:00 PM

Peoria, Ill. – Four Braves scored in double figures and the Bradley men's basketball team used a 16-0 run from the end of the first half to the start of the second for a 66-53 win over Evansville on Saturday night. The Braves, who won their 12th-straight game at Carver Arena in front of a season-high 6,285 fans, improved to 14-7 on the year with a 4-4 record in Missouri Valley Conference action, while the Purple Aces drop to 12-9 and 2-6 against conference foes.

Guard Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye filled up the stat sheet for the Braves, scoring 12 points to go with nine rebounds and a game-high four assists. The junior also held the Valley's top scorer, Ryan Taylor, to just 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting (23.5 percent), less than half of his season average of 20.4 points.

Sophomore Darrell Brown led the four Braves in double figures with 17 points. Senior Donte Thomas registered his second-straight double-double and third of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds with freshman Elijah Childs adding 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-best four blocks.

The way you put an ?? on another home win

Jayden Hodgson ?? DLO ?? Donte Thomas #TheMovement pic.twitter.com/Z1zzB41xis
— Bradley Basketball (@bradleyumbb) January 21, 2018

It was all Bradley early as the Braves raced to a 14-2 lead in the first 3:40 of action. BU scored on six of its first eight possessions with three 3-pointers in the early action for the early 12-point advantage. While the Purple Aces never led in the game, Evansville did pull within a single point, 23-22, after an 11-3 run closed the gap.

Bradley, however, once again put together another strong run, finishing the first half with the final 10 points for 36-25 lead at the intermission before scoring the first six points of the second stanza. The Braves made 6-of-9 field goals during the 16-0 spurt, while holding Evansville to 0-for-8 from the field as Bradley raced out to a 42-25 edge just two minutes into the second stanza.

Evansville did fight back and a 10-0 run of its own pulled the Purple Aces to within five, 44-39, with over 12 minutes remaining in the game. Bradley quickly pushed the lead back up to 14 as it followed with an 11-2 spurt only for the Purple Aces to answer with a 9-1 run as Bradley led by six, 56-50, with more than three minutes remaining. The Braves, however, would tighten up on defense and would not allow Evansville to make another field goal, finishing off the 66-53 victory with an alley-oop from Lautier-Ogunleye to Thomas that sent the Carver Arena crowd home happy for a 12th-straight time.

The Braves shot 42.6 percent in the winning effort with a 9-of-24 mark from 3-point range, while holding the Purple Aces to just 31.6 percent shooting.

Bradley looks to continue its winning ways at Carver Arena on Tuesday when it hosts preseason Valley favorite Missouri State at 7 p.m.

Game Notes: The 12-game winning streak at Carver Arena is the team's longest since a 15-game run in 2006 … Thomas registered his third double-double in the last six games after having zero in the season's first 15 contests … The senior has also scored in double figures in the sixth-straight game (had six games of at least 10 points in first 15 contests) … Childs is the first Brave with four blocks in back-to-back games since David Collins had a run of three-straight during the 2008-09 season … The Braves improved to 29-23 all-time against Evansville with a 20-5 edge at Carver Arena.

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