Springfield, MO. Bradley took care of business against Missouri State and improved to 2-0 in Valley play for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

1st Half
The Bears and the Braves struggled through a tough opening four minutes with just 6 points between the two teams. Bradley would open it up with a 12-2 run, to take a 23-14 run into the under-4 media with a big 9 total bench points from #5 Christian Davis and #23 Ville Tahvanainen. Bradley's defense was on point in the first frame holding MSU to under 20 points, without a make from behind the three-point line and 30% from the field. This is the first time Bradley has held the opposition to under 20 points at the break since the regular season finale against Valpo last season. Both teams were led by a committee of scoring with Bradley registering 6 different players with 3 or more points and the Bears finished with 5 players recording at least one basket. Bradley's defense would see out the half well carrying a 26-18 edge.

2nd Half
As the second half got underway much of the same carried over for Bradley. The defense started out by giving up just 7 points in the opening 5 minutes while the offense found its rhythm putting up 12 points and extending its lead to 36-25 at the under-16 media timeout. The second half would prove to be a war of available bodies as Bradley saw two of their starting five come down with four fouls in Hannah and Deen. However, the subs off the bench held the Bear's leading scorer Chance Moore, without a point to the under-8 media. The Braves defensive clinic drove them to the finish line to a final score of 58-40 and Bradley's first road win in Springfield since the 2019-20 season. Bradley finished the game shooting 44% from the field, 33% from three-point land, and held MSU to just 30% from the floor and 13% from the three-point line.

Impact Performers
#51 Rienk Mast finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and shot over 50% from the field going 6-11 and 1-2 from three. 
#10 Connor Hickman finished with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and a solo steal. 
#14 Malevy Leons finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks.
Bradley's Bench chipped in 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 

Notables

• Bradley is off to a 2-0 start in Valley play for the first time since the 2012-13 season, BU's best start in the last 15 years is during the 2008-09 season when they started 4-0 to begin Valley play.

• Bradley while on the road, held a conference opponent to its lowest point total in 30 years, this was Missouri State's fewest points at home since 1950.

What's next
Bradley will head to Edwardsville to take on SIUE who is 7-2 on the season. The Cougars are winners of 6 straight and are fresh off a win against Troy. You can stream Bradley vs SIUE on ESPN+ or listen over the radio on 1470 WMBD. Bradley leads the all-time series 4-0 with every game being played in Peoria.