Bradley BRAD 6-6

Sam Houston SHSU 4-8

Bradley BRAD

6-6

Final

Dec. 21, 2021

Sam Houston SHSU

4-8

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Bradley BRAD	39	48	87
Sam Houston SHSU	28	33	61

Box Score

Braves Blow Past Sam Houston at Sun Bowl Invitational

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 12/21/2021 9:30:00 PM

El Paso, Texas – The Bradley men's basketball team dominated Sam Houston on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Weststar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational, cruising to an 87-61 victory. With the win, the Braves even their record to 6-6 on the season, while the Bearkats drop to 4-8.

Junior Terry Roberts led Bradley with 23 points – making 7-of-11 field goals in the winning effort. Classmates Malevy Leons and Ville Tahvanainen also chipped in 15 points – making a combined 8-of-13 from 3-point range, including a career-best five triples from Tahvanainen.

Bradley broke open the game with a late first-half run. Leading by one point, 21-20, with 6:53 remaining in the period, the Braves finished the half on an 18-8 run to head into the locker room with a 39-28 advantage. Roberts carried the Braves in the first half with 15 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Roberts and Leons combined for 13 of the team's 18 points during the final stretch of the period.

The Braves then carried their momentum into the second half. It took less than four minutes for BU to stretch its lead to 20 points as the Braves opened the period on a 12-3 run. Bradley dominated the second 20 minutes of action overall – shooting 61.5 percent from the field and 6-of-11 from 3-point range – as the team built a lead as large as 39 points before finishing off the 87-61 victory.

Overall, Bradley made 54.9 percent of its field goals in the winning effort with a 40.7 clip from 3-point range. Sam Houston converted 39.3 percent of its chances with a 5-of-21 mark from beyond the arc.

The Braves are now set to play for the Sun Bowl Invitational title on Wednesday night, squaring off with host UTEP at 8 p.m. CT.

Game Notes: The 26-point margin of victory is Bradley's largest at a neutral site regular-season tournament since defeating Rutgers by 29 points, 101-72, on Nov. 24, 2006 … Bradley's win was its first outside of Peoria this season (entered winless in five games) … Roberts was one point shy of his career high … The junior also eclipsed 20 points for the fourth time this season … Bradley has won its last 33 games when making at least 50 percent of its field goals … Senior Ja'Shon Henry missed Tuesday's game with a head injury.

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