Southern Illinois SIU 8-9, 2-2 MVC

Bradley BRAD 12-5, 3-1 MVC

Southern Illinois SIU

8-9, 2-2 MVC

Final

Jan. 11, 2020

Bradley BRAD

12-5, 3-1 MVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Southern Illinois SIU	29	19	48
Bradley BRAD	26	41	67

Box Score

Braves Cruise Past Southern Illinois Behind Dominant Second Half

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 1/11/2020 10:40:00 PM

Peoria, Ill. – The Bradley men's basketball team outscored Southern Illinois by a 41-19 margin in the second half on Saturday night to earn a 67-48 victory over the Salukis at Carver Arena. The Braves improve to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in Missouri Valley Conference action with the win, while the Salukis slip to 8-9 overall and 2-2 versus league foes.

Senior Darrell Brown led the Braves with 21 points on the night – shooting 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Sophomore Ja'Shon Henry added 16 points – one shy of his career high – and just missed his first collegiate double-double with nine boards.

Senior Koch Bar anchored the Bradley defense with a game-high 11 rebounds, while matching his career high with five blocks. Overall, BU had a season-high nine blocks with Henry and sophomore Ari Boya each adding two.

The Braves gained the early lead in the game, scoring the first six points after triples from Brown and senior Nate Kennell. However, Southern Illinois answered with seven-consecutive points and a 20-7 spurt overall to gain a seven-point lead, 20-13.

The teams then traded 7-0 runs with Bradley squaring the game at 20 before SIU moved back in front, 27-20. The Braves would score the final four points of the half to head into the locker room down by just three, 29-26.

The second half was a different story. Henry sunk his first 3-pointer of the night on the first possession of the stanza to quickly erase the halftime deficit. Freshman Antonio Thomas, Kennell and Brown then each added two points as the Braves scored the first nine points of the half on their first four possessions for a 35-29 lead it would never relinquish.

Southern Illinois cut its deficit to just one, 37-36, only for Bradley to dominate the next 10 minutes of action. Henry led BU during a 20-5 run during the span, scoring nine points and capping the surge with a thunderous dunk inside. The Braves made 44.4 percent of their shots during the game-defining run, while holding the Salukis to just 2-of-14 shooting (14.3 percent) and six turnovers in building a 57-41 advantage with under five minutes remaining.

JA'SHON HENRY 🅱️🏀💪 pic.twitter.com/dP3OFLIH73
— Bradley Basketball (@bradleyumbb) January 12, 2020

Bradley would then seal its 14-straight victory inside Carver Arena with the 67-48 victory.

Overall, the Braves shot 42.9 percent from the field, including a 50.0 percent clip during the second half. The game was really won for BU on the defensive end, however, as Bradley held the Salukis to just 28.1 percent shooting with a 6-of-28 mark (21.4 percent) in the second 20 minutes of action.

The Braves now hit the road again for a contest at Missouri State on Wednesday night. The schools are set to battle at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Game Notes: The 48 points allowed by Bradley are the fewest in a game since an 86-46 win against Little Rock on Dec. 13, 2017 and the fewest in an MVC game since a 63-44 win against Southern Illinois on Jan. 3, 2015 … The Braves have won back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference games by at least 15 points for the first time since 2007 … Bradley's 14-game home-court winning streak ties the longest run for the Braves in five seasons under Coach Wardle … Brown is averaging 19.4 points in five games since the holiday break (averaged 11.8 points in the season's first 12 games) … Bar last had five blocks in a game in his fourth career game on Nov. 21, 2016 … Bradley's nine blocks are two more than its previous season high … The win was the 50th for the Braves all-time against Southern Illinois (BU leads the series, 50-47).

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