Toledo TOLEDO 8-5

Bradley BRAD 9-4

Toledo TOLEDO

8-5

Final

Dec. 28, 2019

Bradley BRAD

9-4

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Toledo TOLEDO	33	33	66
Bradley BRAD	38	40	78

Box Score

Braves Top Toledo, 78-66, for 12th-Straight Home Win

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/28/2019 4:49:00 PM

Peoria, Ill. – With just eight student-athletes and seven scholarship players available, the Bradley men's basketball team fought its way to a victory on Saturday with a 78-66 win against Toledo in the non-conference finale. With the win, the Braves improve to 9-4 on the season, while the Rockets slip to 8-5.

Senior Darrell Brown led Bradley with a season-best 29 points as four Braves scored in double figures in the winning effort. Senior Nate Kennell added 15 points, a career-best nine rebounds and three steals. Rookie Antonio Thomas responded to his first career start with a career-best 14 points (10 more than his previous high) to go with three assists against zero turnovers. Junior Ja'Shon Henry rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points and nine boards.

Bradley led nearly the entire game as an early 7-2 stretch gave BU a cushion it would never give back and an 18-11 lead. Toledo cut its deficit down to one, 20-19, only for Bradley to immediately respond with a 9-0 run and a 10-point lead, 29-19. Ari Boya then put the finishing touches on the first half with a dunk off a pass from Brown for a 38-33 BU lead at the break.

BU then used a 10-4 run to start the second half and push its lead back to double digits, 48-37. Brown had eight points during the opening stretch as Bradley carried its momentum into the second period.

Toledo would fight back but Kennell knocked down a number of big shots to keep Bradley safely in front. After the Rockets pulled within five, 60-55, with 6:29 remaining, Kennell sunk a triple at the end of the shot clock on the next Bradley possession before collecting a loose ball and making a layup on the ensuing possession as BU's lead was quickly back to 10, 65-55. Toledo would only be as close as eight the rest of the game as Bradley secured the win in the non-conference finale.

The Braves finished the contest shooting 41.1 percent, including a 54.2 percent clip during the second half. Bradley also held Toledo to just 37.5 percent shooting with a 7-of-29 mark from beyond the arc.

Bradley now turns its attention toward Missouri Valley Conference play where the team looks to defend its postseason title. First up is the defending regular-season champion, Drake, as the Braves welcome the Bulldogs to Carver Arena on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Game Notes: Bradley improved to a perfect 9-0 this season when its opponent scores fewer than 70 points (0-4 when they score at least 70) … The Braves extend the conference's longest home-court winning streak to 12 games … With his 29 points, Brown raised his career total to 1,536 and passed L.C. Bowen for 13th in school history (1,516 from 1966 to 1969) … Brown also passed Bobby Humbles for seventh in school history with 405 career assists … Thomas scored 18 total points in his first 12 career games before Saturday's 14-point outing … Bradley is now 9-1 this season when Kennell makes at least two 3-pointers … Kennell became the fifth player in school history with 200 career triples (now has 201) and is just 35 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career … Bradley improves to 6-2 all-time against Toledo, winning each of the last six meetings versus the Rockets.

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