Saint Joseph's SJU 6-5

Bradley BRAD 5-6

Saint Joseph's SJU

6-5

Final

Dec. 18, 2021

Bradley BRAD

5-6

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Saint Joseph's SJU	38	35	73
Bradley BRAD	39	38	77

Box Score

Bradley Basketball Tops Saint Joseph’s, 77-73

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/18/2021 6:19:00 PM

Peoria, Ill. – The Bradley basketball team earned its fifth-straight home win on Saturday afternoon with a 77-73 victory against Saint Joseph's at Carver Arena. The Braves are now 5-6 on the year, while the Hawks fall to 6-5.

Five Braves scored in double figures to lead BU to victory. Senior Ja'Shon Henry scored a season-best 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with six rebounds in the winning effort. Junior Malevy Leons added 14 points with Terry Roberts chipping in 13 points and a team-leading six assists.

Sophomore Jayson Kent scored 11 points off the bench – making all eight of his free throws – while freshman Connor Hickman rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

Senior Rienk Mast anchored the defense with 10 rebounds – his sixth game with double-digit boards in just 11 contests this season.

The Braves started the contest strong and quickly built a seven-point lead, 12-5. Bradley maintained its advantage until a late Saint Joseph's run gave the visitors the edge. The Hawks used a 13-3 spurt to turn a 26-21 deficit into a 34-29 advantage with 3:24 remaining. However, Bradley answered back with an 8-2 run of its own to head into the locker room with a one-point lead, 39-38.

Bradley carried its momentum into the second half, scoring the first seven points and 14 of the first 18 to quickly stretch its advantage to double-digits, 53-42. The Braves' lead would reach as many as 12 points, 62-50, with just under nine minutes remaining, before Saint Joseph's made one final push. The Hawks scored the next seven points after falling behind by seven to quickly pull within five, 62-57. The Braves then led by eight, 72-64, only for St. Joe's to use a 9-3 stretch to close the BU edge to just a single point, 74-73, with 1:18 remaining.

The Hawks had the ball with under 30 seconds remaining with the chance to take their first lead of the second half. However, Roberts forced a steal and Saint Joseph's was whistled for a flagrant-one foul with Kent making two free throws in the final 10 seconds and Hickman adding one more for the 77-73 final tally.

Bradley made 46.6 percent of its field goals in the winning effort, while Saint Joseph's converted 44.8 percent of its chances. The Braves also made a season-best 80 percent from the free-throw line, making 20-of-25 from the charity stripe.

The Braves now hit the road and head to El Paso, Texas for the Weststar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational. BU opens the two-game tournament on Tuesday against Sam Houston with a 6 p.m. CT tipoff.

Game Notes: The Braves scored 42 points in the paint – their season high against a Division I opponent … BU also outscored the Hawks in fast-break points, 17-5 … Bradley improved to 5-0 this season when making at least 44 percent of its field goals … The team with the halftime lead is now 10-1 in Bradley games this season … The Braves improved to 5-2 all-time against Saint Joseph's and 10-7 versus the Atlantic 10.

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