Bradley BRAD 20-12

Drake DU 16-16

Bradley BRAD

20-12

Final

Mar. 02, 2018

Drake DU

16-16

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Bradley BRAD	27	36	63
Drake DU	35	26	61

Box Score

Donte Thomas Putback Sends Braves to MVC Semifinals

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/2/2018 6:53:00 PM

St. Louis – Donte Thomas made sure his collegiate career wouldn't end in the Missouri Valley Conference Quarterfinal as the senior's putback basket lifted the Bradley basketball team to a 63-61 victory on Friday afternoon against Drake, securing Thomas his first trip to the conference semifinals and the first for the BU program in eight years. With the victory, Bradley improves to 20-12 on the season, while the Bulldogs end their campaign with a 16-16 record.

With 5.2 seconds remaining and the ball on the sideline, junior Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye inbounded the ball to Thomas on the wing. The senior immediately gave it back to a driving Lautier-Ogunleye, who missed on his initial attempt near the basket only for Thomas to corral the loose ball and find the bottom of the net for the game-winning points. Drake's desperation heave was no good as the Braves secured the quarterfinal victory.

Thomas recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds – none more important than the final board and two points. Sophomore Darrell Brown matched his season high with 24 points to lead the Braves, while Lautier-Ogunleye also reached double figures with 10 points.

Ladies and gentlemen, Donte Thomas #TheMovement #notdoneyet

(?? from @FSMidwest) pic.twitter.com/KgYeNc7rh7
— Bradley Basketball (@bradleyumbb) March 2, 2018

The fifth-seeded Braves were forced to battle the entire 40 minutes as fourth-seeded Drake came out strong and eventually took an eight-point lead into the locker room. The Bulldogs hit six of their first nine shoots – including three from 3-point range – to race out to a 15-7 advantage five minutes into the contest. However, with the Braves trailing, 17-10, Bradley rallied off eight-straight points to take its first lead of the game and eventually pushed its advantage to four, 23-19. The Bulldogs, though, would again get hot offensively and used a 16-4 run in the final six minutes of the period for a 35-27 halftime advantage.

The Braves would quickly respond in the second half as it took just over four minutes to erase its eight-point deficit. Brown tallied the first five points of the period to ignite a 12-0 Bradley run out of the locker room. The Braves would extend their lead to six as BU scored 19 of the first 24 points in the second stanza for a 46-40 advantage. Bradley made 57.1 percent of its shots during the stretch (8-of-14), while also holding the Bulldogs to just 1-of-7 shooting (14.3 percent) with three turnovers.

Drake would answer and used an 8-2 mini run to tie the contest with 10 minutes left, setting up the exciting finish. Neither team would lead by more than three points the remainder of the game with the Bulldogs pulling ahead, 61-58, with under three minutes left. Brown, like he did all game, came up big with his fourth triple of the game to tie the game with 2:49 remaining. The Bradley defense then answered the challenge by forcing the Bulldogs to miss their final six shots, setting up Thomas' heroics on the other end.

Bradley finished the game by shooting 44.6 percent with a 6-of-18 performance from 3-point range. The Bulldogs made 39.6 percent of their baskets, which included a 9-of-26 day from beyond the arc (34.6 percent). The Braves also finished the game with a 39-28 advantage on the glass, including 14 offensive boards.

The Braves and top-seeded Loyola are now set to go head-to-head in the conference semifinals with a bid for the championship game on the line. Bradley is looking for its first appearance in the title game since 2006 with tipoff set for 2:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

Game Notes: Thomas' 14 rebounds matched a career high and are tied for the third most by a Brave in MVC Tournament history, also accomplished against Loyola on March 3, 2016 … Thomas also became the ninth Brave with 700 rebounds in his career and he now has 713, while moving to within 22 points of reaching the 1,000-point mark … Brown is the first Brave with four triples in an MVC Tournament game since Andrew Warren in 2011 … Brown, who also scored 24 against Northern Iowa earlier in the season, tallied at least 20 in a game for the fifth time this season and the ninth time in his career … Bradley reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2008-09 season … The Braves and Bulldogs were meeting for a tournament-record 13th time (and the sixth time in the last eight years) with Bradley now holding an 8-5 advantage.

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