Evansville, Ind. – The Bradley men's basketball team finished January with three wins in its last four games after an 81-73 road victory at Evansville on Wednesday night. The Braves are now 11-11 on the year with a 3-6 record in Missouri Valley Conference action, while the Purple Aces drop to 9-13 and 3-6 versus league foes.
Senior Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye and sophomore Elijah Childs ed the Braves by each registering a double-double. Lautier-Ogunleye led BU with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Childs chipped in 17 points and 11 boards.
Juniors Nate Kennell and Darrell Brown also scored in double figures, tallying 13 and 11 points respectively. Brown also had a game-high four assists in the winning effort.
The teams played an up-and-down game early with Evansville opening up a 20-12 lead just over eight minutes into the contest. The Braves continued to go at the Purple Aces, however, and eventually used a 12-4 run to take a one-point lead before a late triple gave the home team a 36-34 edge at the break.
Lautier-Ogunleye then keyed a second-half run for the Braves that gave the team the lead before Childs finished off the winning effort. Lautier-Ogunleye scored the final eight points of a 12-0 run that turned a 46-40 deficit into a 52-46 advantage. The Purple Aces eventually tied the game at 56 but Childs tallied nine-straight points for BU to give the team the edge for good, 63-59, with just under six minutes remaining.
Bradley remained in front by four, 67-63, but again used a strong push to seal the victory. Brown made a jumper and was followed by Lautier-Ogunleye's fourth triple of the night to ignite an 11-1 stretch en route to the 81-73 victory.
The Braves finished the victory by shooting 51.7 percent – including a 57.1 percent clip in the second half. The Braves also made 9-of-16 from beyond the arc (56.3 percent), while holding the Purple Aces to 11-32 from 3-point range (34.4 percent).
The Braves are back in action on Saturday, hosting Southern Illinois. Bradley's Hall of Fame game is set to begin at 1 p.m. at Carver Arena
Game Notes: The Braves last had two players register a double-double in a game last season against Drake when Donte Thomas and Childs both accomplished the feat … The double-double was the second for Lautier-Ogunleye during his career, while Childs has his fourth of the season and seventh of his career … Bradley improved to 9-2 this year when both Brown and Childs score in double figures … Bradley has eclipsed 80 points in two of its last three games after not doing so in any of its first six Valley contests.