Bradley BRAD 18-14

Missouri State MSU 16-16

Bradley BRAD

18-14

Final

Mar. 08, 2019

Missouri State MSU

16-16

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Bradley BRAD	22	39	61
Missouri State MSU	29	29	58

Box Score

Doug DeVoe

Braves Defeat Missouri State to Advance to MVC Semifinals

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/8/2019 6:38:00 PM

St. Louis – The Bradley men's basketball team used a strong second-half performance to push past fourth-seeded Missouri State in the Missouri Valley Conference Quarterfinals on Friday, 61-58. The Braves improve to 18-14 overall and advance to the Arch Madness Semifinals for the second-straight season, while the Bears drop to 16-16 with the loss.

Junior Darrell Brown led the Braves with 20 points and five assists in the winning effort, while sophomore Elijah Childs added 12 points and seven boards. The duo combined to score 26 of their 32 points after the halftime break with Brown tallying 14 in the second stanza and Childs all of his 12.

Senior Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye also chipped in 11 points, while classmate Luuk van Bree matched Childs for a game-high seven boards.

The Bears led for nearly the entire first half in a close opening 20 minutes and used a strong push at the end for a little breathing room heading into the intermission. After pulling in front, 11-3, Bradley responded with 9-3 run to pull within two, 14-12. Lautier-Ogunleye scored eight of the team's opening 12 points to keep BU within striking distance in the first.

Neither team would then lead by more than four points in the first until the closing minutes. Missouri State used an 8-2 run to finish the period for a 29-22 advantage at the break.

Like they have so many times this season, however, the Braves responded in the second half. Bradley scored the first four points of the stanza and quickly forced the Bears into a timeout. Childs would finish off an early 9-2 run with a made jumper as Bradley pulled even at 31 just over five minutes into the period.

The lead would then change seven times with four ties during the second half before Childs keyed a late Bradley stretch. Trailing 49-47 with under seven minutes remaining, the sophomore tallied five-straight points to give BU the lead for good and ignite a 9-0 Bradley surge. Childs first buried a pair of free throws and then added his first 3-pointer of the game for a 52-49 BU edge with four minutes left.

Brown scored the next four Bradley points as the Braves held a 56-49 lead with 2:29 remaining. Missouri State would pull within two with under 40 seconds left and twice had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead. Childs blocked the Bears' first chance on a 3-pointer with less than 20 seconds remaining before Missouri State's final opportunity with less than 10 seconds left came up empty as Bradley advanced to the league's semifinals.

ELIJAH CHILDS!!!!! pic.twitter.com/X4B6iflPYD
— Bradley Basketball (@bradleyumbb) March 8, 2019

ELIJAH CHILDS WITH THE BLOCK! pic.twitter.com/wYqgU8BvKx
— Bradley Basketball (@bradleyumbb) March 8, 2019

Bradley finished the game shooting 46.5 percent – including a 52.2 percent clip in the second half. The Braves also outrebounded the Bears, 31-21, while holding Missouri State to just 40.4 percent from the field.

The Braves now advance to play top-seeded Loyola on Saturday afternoon at Enterprise Center. The two schools battle for a chance to advance to Sunday's title game, beginning at 2:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

Game Notes: Bradley has rallied from a halftime deficit a Valley-best seven times this season – its most since also posting seven rallies during the 2012-13 campaign … Brown tied for the third-best free-throw line performance in Bradley's MVC Tournament history, going 10-for-10 from the line … Brown reached the 20-point mark in a MVC Quarterfinal win for the second-straight season … It also marked the second-straight season that Bradley avenged two regular-season losses in its quarterfinal victory … Bradley improved to 14-4 when both Brown and Childs score in double figures (4-10 when one doesn't) … The schools were meeting in the MVC Tournament for the first time in 21 years as the Bears now lead the postseason series, 3-2 … Bradley and Loyola split a pair of regular-season meetings, both winning on their home court.

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