Braves Continue Homestand on Saturday with Redhawks

Barathwaj Rudraboina

Men's Basketball 11/9/2018 11:30:00 AM

Bradley (1-0) vs. Southeast Missouri State (0-1)
Game Details	Saturday, Nov. 10 • 1 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Southeast Missouri State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb
Tickets	Ticketmaster \| (309) 677-2625

The Bradley men's basketball team looks to start 2-0 with a home contest against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday. The weekend matinee game is set to start at 1 p.m. at Carver Arena.

PROMOTIONS
• Saturday's game is East Peoria Day. Any fan with an East Peoria address can present their driver's license at the box office on game day for two white level tickets for 50% off.
• Also, in Kaboom!'s Korner is inflatables from Fun on the Run, including a Bounce House.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• The Braves earned a 74-58 victory in their opener against UW-Parkside on Wednesday.
• BU scored the game's first 12 points and never led by fewer than double digits the entire second half.
• Bradley dominated the post in the winning effort with junior Koch Bar scoring a career-best 19 points and sophomore Elijah Childs missing his personal best by one with 17 points.
• The Braves return 7-of-8 players that averaged at least 3.0 points per game last season.
• Darrell Brown led BU with 13.5 points and 4.3 assists per game last year, while Childs is the top returner in rebounds with 6.2 per game.

SERIES HISTORY
• Bradley owns an 8-2 all-time advantage against the Redhawks, winning the last six meetings.
• The Braves have defeated Southeast Missouri State in each of the last two seasons, posting an 84-78 home victory two seasons ago and winning on the road last year, 75-67.
• Four Braves scored in double figures in last year's win with Darrell Brown leading the way with 18. Bradley used a 16-5 run to end the first half with a 12-point lead and never gave it back en route to the eight-point victory.
• The Redhawks last defeated the Braves in 1999.

BRAVES VERSUS OVC
• Bradley is 34-17 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
• BU has won its last eight games against OVC members, including a pair of games last season.
• Saturday's is the first of three games this year for Bradley against the conference as the Braves also play Jacksonville State and Eastern Illinois.

ABOUT THE REDHAWKS
• Southeast Missouri State lost its season opener on Tuesday, falling at Saint Louis, 75-65.
• Ledarrius Brewer led the Redhawks with 18 points and seven rebounds in the loss, while Alex Caldwell added 14 points and a team-best four assists.
• The Redhawks returned only on of their top five scorers from a season ago in Brewer. He ranked second last year with 14.5 points per game.
• Jonathan Dalton also returns after leading the Redhawks, who went 14-17, with 5.4 assists per game.

OPENER RECAP AND GOING FOR TWO
• The Braves began the season with a 74-58 win against UW-Parkside – the team's largest victory in its opener since a 23-point win against Eastern Illinois in 2013.
• Overall, the Braves moved to 83-32 all-time in their season openers.
• Bradley is now looking to win its second-straight game to begin the year in consecutive seasons. The Braves reached 2-0 last year for the first time since 2013-14.

BRAVES DOMINATE INSIDE
• Bradley's two starting big men controlled the paint in the season-opening victory.
• Junior Koch Bar and sophomore Elijah Childs combined for 36 points and 15 rebounds in the win.
• Bar led the Braves with 19 points to establish a new career. It also marked the first time in his 64-game career that he led the team in scoring by himself.
• Overall, Bradley scored 46 points in the paint on Wednesday – the team's most since a 54-point game against Eureka on Dec. 18, 2014.
• Last season, Bradley was 17-5 when scoring more points in the paint than its opponent but just 2-6 when losing the battle inside.

CAUGHT STEALING
• Returning one of the nation's top defenses from a year ago, Bradley picked up right where it left off.
• The Braves recorded 13 steals in the victory – tied for the most by BU in the last four years.
• Bradley last recorded more than 13 swipes in an 80-38 victory against Eureka in 2014 with 16.
• Senior Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye and sophomore Elijah Childs each set new career highs with four steals against the Rangers.

PITTMAN RETURNS FOR BU
• Redshirt junior guard Antoine Pittman made his first appearance in an official game in more than a year on Wednesday.
• Pittman, who redshirted the 2017-18 campaign to develop his offensive game, contributed four points and five rebounds in his return.
• Pittman scored 412 points (6.9 per game) with 123 rebounds, 62 assists and 43 steals in his first two season on campus.

2017-18 RECAP
• The Braves improved their win total by seven games during the 2017-18 campaign, posting a 20-13 overall record to go with a 9-9 MVC mark.
• Bradley reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2009 last year.
• The Braves also placed fifth in the final Valley standings before advancing to the MVC Semifinals for the first time since 2010.

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