Braves Open Sun Bowl Invitational Tuesday versus Sam Houston

Men's Basketball 12/20/2021 10:30:00 AM

Bradley (5-6, 1-0 MVC) vs. Sam Houston (4-7, 0-0 WAC)
Game Details	Tuesday, Dec. 21 • 6 p.m. CT • El Paso, Texas • Don Haskins Center
Radio	1470 & 100.3 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Sam Houston
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Braves head to Texas for their last two games before the Christmas break – competing at the Weststar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational. BU opens the action on Tuesday against Sam Houston at 6 p.m. CT.

SUN BOWL INVITATIONAL
• Bradley is one of four teams competing at the 2021 Weststar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational.
• The Braves open the tournament against Sam Houston on the campus of UTEP. The host Miners also meet North Carolina Central in the other semifinal.
• Tuesday's winners battle for the tournament crown on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT with the consolation game set for 6 p.m. CT.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley enters the Sun Bowl Invitational with a 5-6 record, including a 1-0 mark in MVC play.
• The Braves are coming off a 77-73 victory against Saint Joseph's on Saturday.
• Junior Terry Roberts leads the Braves with 15.2 points and 4.0 assists per game in 2021-22.
• Senior Ja'Shon Henry and junior Malevy Leons also average in double figures. Henry is second on BU with 11.2 points after a season-best 18 in Saturday's win, while Leons adds 10.5 per game.
• Sophomore Rienk Mast has collected a team-best 9.1 rebounds per game.
• The Braves average 70.6 points this season, while allowing 66.8 on defense.

SERIES HISTORY
• Bradley and Sam Houston are meeting for the first time on a basketball court.

BRAVES VERSUS WAC
• The Braves are 11-12 all-time against schools in the WAC.
• Bradley has won its last four meetings versus conference foes, last defeating Chicago State in 2018, posting an 86-70 victory.

ABOUT THE BEARKATS
• Sam Houston enters the tournament with a 4-7 overall record in 2021-22.
• The Bearkats are coming off a 103-53 victory against Hardin-Simmons on Saturday.
• Savion Flagg leads Sam Houston with 19.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Demarkus Lampley also scores in double figures with 12.5 points.
• Jaden Ray has a team-best 3.7 assists per game.

REGULAR-SEASON TOURNAMENTS
• Bradley is set to compete in its second regular-season tournament of the season this week, having already played in the Paradise Jam.
• It marks the seventh time in school history that Bradley has competed in multiple tournaments in one year and the first since 2014.
• Overall, the Braves are 80-79 all-time in regular-season tournaments during their history.
• BU has won five tournaments in its history – most recently at the 2018 Cancun Challenge.

STAY HOT TERRY ROBERTS
• Junior Terry Roberts continues to impress in his first season at BU and play his best basketball.
• In four December games so far, Roberts has scored 17.8 points per game – shooting 54.5 percent from the field.
• Roberts' 17.3 points in December are the most for any Brave during the month (min. three games) since Andrew Warren averaged 20.2 in 2010-11.

VERSATILE MALEVY LEONS
• Junior Malevy Leons is showing why he was so highly-regarded joining the Braves and has done a little bit of everything for Bradley.
• Leons ranks third on the team in scoring (10.5) and second in rebounds (5.1). He also leads BU with a field goal percentage of 51.3, while ranking second with a 3-point clip of 40.5.
• No player in BU history has shot at least 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc in the same season (min. 0.5 3PM/game).
• Leons also leads BU with 17 blocks and is third with 13 assists.

EFFICIENCY KEY FOR HENRY
• Senior Ja'Shon Henry has had a very efficient career during his tenure at Bradley.
• The senior currently ranks 10th in school history by making 53.1 percent of his career field goals – scoring 1.45 points per field goal attempt.
• Henry is coming off his best game of the 2021-22 campaign – scoring 18 points in Saturday's win versus Saint Joseph's, making 7-of-11 field goals.

EARLY RETURNS FOR HICKMAN
• Freshman Connor Hickman has made an immediate impact with the Braves in 2021-22.
• Hickman leads BU with a 3-point percentage of 41.9. He is on target to become one of just three freshmen in school history to make at least 40 percent (currently ranking first).
• Hickman, who became the first BU freshman to start a season opener since Koch Bar and Darrell Brown opened the 2016-17 campaign, is now tallying 6.8 points per game so far this season.

44 PERCENT
• The number BU needs to aim for this season is 44.
• Bradley is a perfect 5-0 this season when shooting 44 percent from the field but winless in six games when held under the number.
• Overall, Bradley is making 43.5 percent of its field goals this season.

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