Peoria, IL. The Bradley Braves 20-8 (13-4) completed the regular season sweep of the Missouri State Bears 14-13 (10-7) and remain tied at the top of the MVC standings with Drake.
Game Recap
The Bradley Braves started out hot and put the pedal down early by jumping out to a 13-4 scoring run to begin the game. The Braves great start was fueled by
Rienk Mast, who recorded six of the Braves first 13 points. BU scored on all of their first five possessions to start the game. Mast finished the night with another double digit performance and he also chipped in five rebounds, three assists, a solo block and steal.
Just past midway through the first half, Bradley would begin to steal second chances off of the offensive glass, and as a result, they started to rain it in from downtown, starting 3-6.
Zek Montgomery,
Duke Deen and
Malevy Leons all tacked on 3-pointers to extend the BU lead to 13 points. Bradley didn't have the greatest shooting night from behind the 3-point line but made shots when it mattered most to push the lead back to double digits throughout the game. BU carried an 11-point lead into halftime off the back of a 30-6 edge in points in the paint.
As the second half waged on, the physicality picked up, and both teams found themselves in a battle down low.
Ja'Shon Henry established himself on the low block by converting on two traditional three-point plays and three offensive rebounds in the opening minutes of the second half. Henry continues to close in on 1,000 career points, and his nine points against Missouri State bring him to within 28 points. Henry need to average just 9.3 PPG for the remaining three regular season games to collect his 1,000th point before the conference tournament.
Late in the contest, Missouri State's aggressiveness would work against them as
Duke Deen was able to quickly outlet the ball to open shooters, and BU was all but too happy to take advantage.
Malevy Leons and
Connor Hickman would be the biggest benefactors, with Hickman connecting on a transition three and Leons finishing an alley-oop pass from
Darius Hannah. Hannah was all over the court for the Braves and finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. The game would be seen out by another clutch shot from Leons, who pushed the lead up to 14 points with two minutes left. BU ended the game with the win by a final score of 64-54
Looking Ahead
Bradley will be back in action this Sunday when the Braves travel to Carbondale to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis. The game will be available on ESPN+ and broadcast on ESPN2 and is set for a 1 p.m. start time from the Banterra Center.