Braves Face Penn State in Cancun Challenge Championship

Men's Basketball 11/21/2018 10:15:00 AM

Bradley (4-1) vs. Penn State (3-1)
Game Details	Wednesday, Nov. 21 • 7:30 p.m. CT • Cancun, Mexico • Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya
Television	CBS Sports Network
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Penn State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley Braves have their eyes on the Cancun Challenge championship, squaring off with Penn State for the title Wednesday. The Braves and Nittany Lions battle it out for the crown, beginning at 7:30 p.m. CT.

CANCUN CHALLENGE
• The Braves advanced to the championship game of the Riviera Division at the Cancun Challenge with a 75-62 win against SMU on Tuesday.
• Bradley plays Penn State, who won the other semifinal over Wright State, 77-59, in the title contest.

REGULAR-SEASON TOURNAMENTS
• Bradley owns a 74-72 all-time record in regular-season tournaments.
• This week will mark the 54th time the Braves compete in an in-season tournament, having finished first or tied for first five previous times.
• Bradley has not won a regular-season tournament since the 1983 River City Shootout and has not won a tournament away from Peoria since the 1966 Sugar Bowl Tournament.

WORLD TRAVELERS
• Bradley's trip to Mexico this week will mark the fourth foreign country the Braves have played in in the last year.
• Last season, BU played its first regular-season tournament outside the United States since 1989 when it went 2-1 at the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase (fifth place).
• This past summer, the Braves then took their foreign tour to England and Amsterdam, winning both games in Europe.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley rebounded from its first loss of the season on Tuesday, defeating SMU in the Cancun Challenge semifinals, 75-62.
• Elijah Childs recorded his first double-double of the season in the win, setting or matching career highs in points (21) and rebounds (12).
• Childs leads Braves with 14.2 points and 9.6 rebounds during his sophomore campaign.
• Junior Darrell Brown is second on the team with 13.8 points to go with a team-leading 3.6 assists per game.
• Overall, four Braves average in double figures as Koch Bar (12.4) and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (11.6) rank third and fourth on the team.
• Bradley owns a scoring offense of 72.2 and a scoring defense of 62.6 in 2018-19.

SERIES HISTORY
• Bradley and Penn State have met five prior times on the hardwood with the Braves holding a slight 3-2 advantage.
• The schools both won at home during a home-and-home series when they last played with the Nittany Lions taking a 1996 contest, 61-57, before Bradley responded in 1998, 63-57.
• Penn State also owns a win in the title game of the 1995 Cable Car Classic against BU, 75-72.

BRAVES VERSUS BIG TEN
• Bradley is 24-50 all-time against teams from the Big Ten Conference.
• The Braves have lost their last four meetings versus league foes with the team's last victory coming in 2009 – a 72-68 win versus Illinois.
• BU has not played a Big Ten school since Brian Wardle took the reins of the program in 2015.

ABOUT THE NITTANY LIONS
• Penn State is 3-1 this season after its 77-59 victory against Wright State on Tuesday.
• The Nittany Lions also own wins against North Florida and Jacksonville State this year, while falling at DePaul.
• Lamar Stevens leads the team with 24.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game this season.
• Three additional PSU players are averaging double figures – Myles Dread (14.0), Josh Reaves (13.8) and Rasier Bolton (10.5).
• Penn State is scoring 77.5 points per game this season, while allowing 66.0.

BALANCED SCORING
• One key to the Braves' success on the offensive end is the number of scoring options.
• The Braves currently have four players averaging double figures with a fifth player averaging 9.0.
• Three different Braves have scored at least 20 points in just five games this season – Koch Bar, Elijah Childs and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye.
• The list doesn't include the two returners that scored 20 points last year in Darrell Brown and Nate Kennell.
• Overall, Bradley has had four different players lead the team in scoring in five games this season.

CHILDS TAKES REBOUNDING LEAD
• While Braves have taken turns leading the team in scoring, it has been one constant on the boards.
• Elijah Childs has led the team in rebounding in all five games, leading the MVC with 9.6 boards per game.
• Childs is the first Brave to lead the team on the glass in each of the season's first five games since Danny Granger did so in 2001-02.
• The sophomore is also leading the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game.

BRADLEY CONSISTENCY
• BU has been a consistent team so far in 2018-19.
• Bradley has scored between 68 and 75 points in all five games this year. Bradley has also allowed only 57 to 65 in its four wins, slipping up in its one defeat when it surrendered 71 to UIC.
• Darrell Brown has scored at least 10 points in each game. The last Brave with a longer streak to start a season was Daniel Ruffin with nine in 2007-08.
• Elijah Childs is nearly averaging a double-double as the sophomore and has tallied at least eight points and eight boards in all five contests.

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