Drake DU 10-4, 0-1 MVC

Bradley BRAD 10-4, 1-0 MVC

Drake DU

10-4, 0-1 MVC

Final

Dec. 31, 2019

Bradley BRAD

10-4, 1-0 MVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Drake DU	37	35	72
Bradley BRAD	41	39	80

Box Score

Bradley Defeats Drake, 80-72, in Valley Opener

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/31/2019 10:06:00 PM

Peoria, Ill. – In a back-and-forth Missouri Valley Conference opener featuring the defending regular season and postseason champions, the Bradley men's basketball team used a late 10-0 run to secure a victory over Drake, 80-72, on Tuesday night. The Braves improve to 10-4 during the 2019-20 campaign and 1-0 in Valley action, while the Bulldogs drop to 10-4 and 0-1 versus league foes.

Senior Darrell Brown led four Braves in double figures with 19 points to go with eight assists. Classmate Nate Kennell added 16 points and a career-best nine rebounds for the second-straight game, while freshman Ville Tahvanainen and sophomore Ja'Shon Henry chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Senior Koch Bar added eight points, while collecting a game-high nine boards and a career-best four steals in the winning effort.

The Braves led for nearly the entire half but would ultimately need a late run to secure the halftime advantage. Neither team was able to grab more than a one-possession lead during the first 10-plus minutes of the game before Bradley finally gained a little cushion and led by five points, 29-24.

Drake, however, used a 10-4 run to pull in front by one, 34-33, with 1:42 remaining in the period only for Bradley to answer back with a quick spurt to go back ahead. The Braves scored eight-straight points in just 55 seconds before a 3-pointer at the buzzer by the Bulldogs sent the teams into the locker room with BU in front by four, 41-37.

The momentum, however, did not carry over for the Braves to start the second half. Drake scored the first nine points of the period for its largest lead of the game, 46-41. Brown ended the run with a 3-pointer, setting up a back-and-forth final 16 minutes.

The teams again traded the lead a number of times with Bradley becoming the first team to move in front by multiple possessions, 68-63, with seven minutes remaining. Just like in the first half, Drake fought back and scored six-straight points for a 69-68 edge with just over three minutes remaining.

The Braves, though, would take control of the contest with a game-defining 10-0 run. Brown found Tahvanainen for a back-door dunk to give Bradley the lead for good, 70-69. Junior Danya Kingsby extended the lead with a pair of free throws before Bar connected on a hook shot with a minute remaining for a 74-69 lead. Bar then came up with one of his career-best four steals on the next possession and Henry finished with a fastbreak dunk on the other end as the Braves sealed the victory in the conference opener.

Bradley finished the contest by shooting 41.9 percent, including a 9-of-21 clip from 3-point range (42.9 percent). The Braves also held the advantage on the glass, 39-29, while getting to the free throw line 14 more times than the Bulldogs with a 19-of-22 day from the charity stripe.

After defeating last season's regular-season champion, the Braves now turn their attention toward a rematch of the 2019 MVC Tournament Championship, squaring off at Northern Iowa. Saturday's first tip in Cedar Falls is set for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.

Game Notes: The Braves won their conference opener for the first time since 2016-17 … BU's 80 points are its most in a conference opener since defeating Northern Iowa, 84-63 on Dec. 31, 1994 … The Braves extended the Valley's longest home winning streak to 13 games … Bradley won for the first time this season when allowing more than 70 points in a game (was 0-4) … With his eight assists, Brown passed Willie Scott to move into sixth place in the school's record book with 413 career assists … Tahvanainen is now shooting 70.8 percent (17-of-24) and 60.0 percent (9-of-15) from 3-point range during the last five games – was shooting 25.8 percent from the field and 9.1 percent from beyond the arc in the season's first nine contests … Kennell has made at least three 3-pointers in six-straight games … Bradley has outrebouned its opponent in eight-straight games for the first time since the first eight contests of the 2017-18 campaign … The Braves ended a four-game regular-season losing streak to the Bulldogs.

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