BRADLEY BRAD 4-1

SMU SMU 2-3

BRADLEY BRAD

4-1

Final

Nov. 20, 2018

SMU SMU

2-3

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
BRADLEY BRAD	30	45	75
SMU SMU	28	34	62

Box Score

Braves Defeat SMU, 75-62, to Advance to Championship

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 11/20/2018 8:25:00 PM

Cancun, Mexico – Sophomore Elijah Childs led four Braves in double figures with career-best totals of 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bradley men's basketball team to a 75-62 victory against SMU. BU advances to the Cancun Challenge Championship and improves to 4-1 with the win, while the Mustangs drop to 2-3.

Childs connected on 9-of-13 field goals – including a pair of 3-pointers – to register his first double-double of the season. The sophomore forward also added two blocks and one steal on the defensive end as Bradley held SMU to its lowest point total of the season.

Junior Koch Bar added 15 points – making all four of his field goals and connecting on 7-of-9 free throws – while juniors Darrell Brown and Nate Kennell added 14 and 12, respectively.

The Braves started the contest strong and raced to an early 8-2 lead. SMU slowly fought back and took its first lead of the contest, 16-15, with 9:46 remaining but it was a strong finish to the period led by Bar that gave Bradley the lead for good. The center scored seven-straight points for BU to ignite a 12-1 run and turn a six-point deficit into a 30-25 edge. SMU added a 3-pointer to halt the run and send the teams into the locker room with Bradley ahead by two, 30-28.

✅ Career-high 21 points
✅ Match personal best with 12 rebounds
✅ First double-double of the season
✅ Defeat SMU in 🇲🇽

Your Ameren Illinois Player of the Game, Elijah Childs pic.twitter.com/WRRafdIfYp
— Bradley Braves (@BradleyBraves) November 21, 2018

Childs led the Braves with nine points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action as BU made 48.1 percent of its baskets for the two-point edge.

After an even start to the second stanza, Bradley used a 10-0 run to take control of the game. Up by two points, 39-37, the BU defense keyed the stretch as it forced SMU into the three turnovers and two missed 3-pointers for a 12-point advantage, 49-37.

SMU would pull back within three, 53-50, but a 9-1 run capped by a triple from Brown put the game out of reach, 68-55, with just under two minutes remaining. The Braves then wound down the clock for the 75-62 victory.

Bradley made 51.0 percent of its field goals in the winning effort, while holding the Mustangs to just 36.5 percent shooting.

The Braves now aim for their first in-season tournament championship since the 1983 River City Shootout when it meets the winner of Penn State and Wright State tomorrow night. The Cancun Challenge title game is set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Game Notes: Bradley advanced to its first regular-season tournament championship since 2010 … Childs previous career high in points was 18 against Loyola last season, while he matched his personal best in rebounds (also against Missouri State last season) … Childs is the third Brave to score 20 points in a game this season … The sophomore also extended his streak of leading the team in boards in each of the first five games – matching Danny Granger in 2001-02 as the last Brave to do so … Bar has made 84.6 percent of his field goals through five games (22-of-26) … Bradley has made more free throws than its opponent in all five games this season … The Braves posted their first-ever win against a team in the American Athletic Conference as Bradley was 0-2 against the league since it formed in 2013.

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