Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Bradley men's basketball opened their season on Monday night against AAC opponent UAB. The Braves won the match by a score of 73-71 in overtime.
Game Recap
On Monday night, the Braves traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, for their first matchup with UAB since 2001. In the first half, Bradley had their offense working with a 40-24 lead.
Malevy Leons led Bradley with 11 points and eight rebounds, seven of them on the defensive end. Darius Hannah contributed 10 points along with three rebounds and three assists.
Bradley shot 54.8% from the field and 37.5% beyond the arc. On the other end, the Braves limited the Blazers offense after they recorded a 27% field goal percentage.
UAB mounted a comeback in the second half, going up as much as 11 over the Braves. At the end of the half, Leons made a dunk to go up by two but the Blazers responded with a dunk of their own nine seconds later to force overtime.
Late in overtime, Bradley took a 71-68 lead after Leons made two free throws. The Blazers quickly responded with three points on the other end to tie the game with 26 seconds left. A layup made by Hannah in the closing seconds gave Bradley the lead to win the game.
Leons recorded 24 points and 14 rebounds in the game, shooting 8-for-14 from the field. Duke Deen logged 40 minutes and tallied 15 points, while Hannah shot .636 from the field, tallying 14 points, six rebounds and five assists in 36 minutes. Christian Davis made four crucial free throws and collected eight defensive rebounds.
The Braves made 10 three-pointers in the contest, compared to the Blazers' three. Bradley shot 43% in the field and 81% from the free-throw line. They also recorded 22 fast-break points.
Looking Ahead
The Braves return home on Saturday night for a game versus Utah State at 7 PM. Bradley was defeated by Utah State last season in Logan, Utah. This game will be streamed on ESPN+ or can be listened to here.
Tickets
Single-game tickets can be purchased here.
Season tickets can be found here or call (309) 677-2625.
