Braves Continue Action at Carver Arena, Host Missouri S&T Tuesday

Men's Basketball 11/15/2021 5:00:00 PM

Bradley (0-2) vs. Missouri S&T (0-1)
Game Details	Tuesday, Nov. 16 • 7 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 & 100.3 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Missouri S&T
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb
Tickets	Ticketmaster \| (309) 677-2625

The Bradley basketball team continues early-season action, hosting Missouri S&T on Tuesday night at Carver Arena. Tipoff between the Braves and Miners is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN3.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley has lost its first two games of the season.
• Junior Terry Roberts leads BU with 13.0 points and 4.5 assists per game.
• Sophomore Rienk Mast is second on the team with 12.0 points and a team-best 12.5 rebounds per game.
• Overall, five Braves average in double figures – Roberts, Mast, Jayson Kent (10.5), Malevy Leons (10.5) and Ja'Shon Henry (10.0).

SERIES HISTORY
• Bradley and Missouri S&T have played once previously with BU earning a 79-47 win in 2017.
• Nate Kennell led Bradley with 18 points to go with five assists in the winning effort.

ABOUT THE MINERS
• A NCAA Division II school, Missouri S&T is 0-1 during the 2021-22 season.
• Ryan Parker leads the Miners with 16 points, while Julien Smith added 15 points and six rebounds in their season opener.
• The Miners finished the 2020-21 COVID season with a 4-16 overall record.

NEW FACES
• Bradley has a new look to its team during the 2021-22 campaign as newcomers have accounted for 57.3 percent of the team's minutes this season.
• Rienk Mast is the only Brave that averaged at least 15 minutes last season to appear in both of BU's games this year.
• Bradley's two most experienced players have missed time due to injury (Ville Tahvanainen) and illness (Ja'Shon Henry) already in 2021-22.

OFFENSIVE ON THE GLASS
• One area where the Braves have excelled early in the 2021-22 season is offensive rebounds.
• Bradley currently leads the Valley and ranks 20th nationally with 16.5 offensive boards per game.
• In Saturday's game against Howard, BU collected 23 offensive rebounds – tied for its most in the last seven seasons (last totaled more on Dec. 12, 2014 with 25 against Little Rock).

MAST DOUBLES UP
• Rienk Mast is averaging a double-double this year with 12.0 points and a team-best 12.5 rebounds.
• In the season opener at South Dakota State, Mast collected 11 points and a career-best 15 rebounds – the most by a Brave in a season opener since Jordan Prosser had 17 in 2011.
• After adding a second double-double versus Howard, Mast is the first Brave to register one in each of the season's first two games since Marcellus Sommerville in 2003-04.
• No Brave has recorded a double-double in the first three games since Joe Allen in 1966-67.

DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING THREAT
• Sophomore Jayson Kent has quickly become a threat to score 10-plus points this season.
• The second-year player is averaging 10.5 points during the season's first two games.
• Kent has scored in double figures in each of the season's first two games – already matching his total in 23 games as a rookie.

SCORING TURNOVERS
• One area where the Braves will look to clean is up points off turnovers.
• Despite committing only one more turnover than its opponents this season (33-32), foes lead Bradley in points off turnovers, 40-21.
• BU opponents have scored 25.5 percent their points off turnovers this season, while 16.3 of Bradley's points are off turnovers.

DUO NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MVC
• Bradley landed two players on the All-Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Team for only the second time since 2013.
• Ja'Shon Henry earned third-team honors after averaging 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds last year.
• Rienk Mast joined Henry on the third team and is the only underclassmen on any of the league's three units.
• Mast averaged 8.6 points and 5.8 rebounds during his rookie season of 2020-21.

BRAVES SLATED SIXTH
• Bradley was selected sixth in the annual preseason poll by coaches, SIDs and media.
• Drake ranked first in the preseason poll, followed by Loyola, Northern Iowa, Missouri State and SIU.

2020-21 RECAP
• Bradley saw its two-year run atop the MVC come to an end last season, falling in the first round of the MVC Tournament to Southern Illinois.
• BU featured an inconsistent lineup during the season as all but four players missed at least five games – only Rienk Mast played in all 28 contests.
• Overall, the Braves posted a 12-16 record with a 6-12 record in league play.

RETURNING AND LOST NUMBERS
• The Braves return eight letterwinners and two starters from a season ago, while they look to replace seven players and three starters.
• The biggest departure for Bradley saw Elijah Childs graduate after finishing his career second in BU history in blocks, seventh in rebounds and 22nd in points.
• Overall, BU brings back 47.4 percent of minutes, 48.7 percent of scoring, 56.1 percent of rebounds and 30.3 percent of assists from last season.

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