Valparaiso VALPO 13-17, 6-12 MVC

Bradley BRAD 17-13, 11-7 MVC

Valparaiso VALPO

13-17, 6-12 MVC

Final

Feb. 26, 2022

Bradley BRAD

17-13, 11-7 MVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Valparaiso VALPO	13	42	55
Bradley BRAD	34	45	79

Box Score

Bradley Cruises Past Valparaiso on Senior Night, 79-55

Box Score (PDF)

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 2/26/2022 10:57:00 PM

Peoria, Ill. – The Bradley men's basketball team is heading to Arch Madness with momentum, running past Valparaiso on Saturday night, 79-55, in front of 5,660 fans on Senior Night at Carver Arena. The Braves finish the 2021-22 regular season with a 17-13 record and 11-7 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play, while the Beacons drop to 13-17 overall and 6-12 versus league foes.

Sophomore Rienk Mast led Bradley on the night, collecting his eighth double-double of the season. The forward scored 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting – just one shy of his season high – while also corralling 11 rebounds in the winning effort. Freshman Connor Hickman was second on the team with 14 points – making 5-of-6 field goals, including a career-best four 3-pointers on just five attempts.

Senior Ari Boya made his Senior Day count as the forward scored a season-best 13 points to go with five rebounds, while matching his career high with five blocks.

Junior Terry Roberts and graduate student Mikey Howell paced the attack with 13 combined assists versus just one turnover. Roberts matched his career high with seven helpers, while Howell added six assists in his Senior Day victory.

The Braves used a dominant defensive start to build a lead it would never relinquish. Bradley forced the Beacons into missing eight of their first 10 shots and 18 of their first 22, holding Valpo to just eight points through the first 16-plus minutes of the game. The Braves, meanwhile, used a balance attack during that stretch with seven players scoring in building a 23-8 lead. Mast then added seven points during the final 3:30 of the period to stretch the Braves advantage at the half to 21 points, 34-13.

Valparaiso never threatened in the second 20 minutes of action – only pulling as close as 16 during the period and never less than 20 the final 14 minutes of the game. Highlighting the second-half action for BU was Riley Burger scoring the first points of his collegiate career on his Senior Night with a left-handed layup with 2:34 left as BU secured the 24-point victory, 79-55.

RILEY BURGER!

He scores his first career points on Senior Day!!! pic.twitter.com/dzevQrUpNU
— Bradley Basketball (@bradleyumbb) February 27, 2022

Bradley finished the win by shooting 50.0 percent from the field with a 7-of-24 clip from 3-point range. The Braves also held the Beacons to just 38.6 percent shooting and 5-of-21 from beyond the arc (23.8 percent).

The Braves now turn their attention toward the postseason after earning the five seed for the 2022 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Bradley opens up against four-seed Loyola in a battle of the last four Arch Madness champions. The quarterfinal game in St. Louis is set for Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.

Game Notes: Bradley's 11 conference wins are tied for the most by BU in the last 21 seasons (also 2005-06 and 2019-20) … The 13 first-half points allowed by the Braves are the team's fewest in a half since surrendering 12 in the second stanza versus Eureka on Dec. 18, 2014 and the fewest against a Division I school since allowing 13 in the first half against Tennessee Martin on Nov. 21, 1998 … On the opposite end, Bradley has won its last 36 contests when shooting at least 50 percent in a game … Mast's eight double-doubles are tied with Zach Andrews (2006-07) as the most by a Brave in the last 31 years (Xanthus Houston was the last Brave with nine in 1990-91) … With just eight turnovers, Bradley improved to 8-0 this season in Valley play with 13 or fewer miscues (3-7 with more) … Bradley has won its last three games against the Beacons by an average of 21 points.

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