PEORIA, Ill. – #3 Bradley Men's Basketball defeated Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NIT with a final score of 74-62 at Carver Arena.
Bradley started out the first half with a 10-0 lead over Loyola to force an early timeout. They went into the locker room at halftime with a 36-19 lead. The Braves recorded 19 total rebounds with five blocks and 18 points in the paint.
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"We executed in the first half," head coach Brian Wardle said. "Our defense got us a lead and we were able to sustain it."
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Malevy Leons led the Braves with eight points, five rebounds and three blocks. Duke Deen and Darius Hannah both tallied seven points with Hannah grabbing five rebounds. Connor Hickman and Christian Davis both collected five points.
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"That was probably one of the best first halves defensively we have had all year," Hannah said.
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The Braves took down the Ramblers by a final score of 74-62. They finished with 33 rebounds with 25 on the defensive side. The Braves recorded seven blocks and six steals on defense. Bradley shot 49% from the field with 34 points in the paint. They limited Loyola to 37.1% from the field and 23.3% in the first half.
Deen led the game in points with 18. The senior added four rebounds, four assists and only one turnover. Leons had a double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. He was 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
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"I wanted to do it for the fans," Hannah said. "I wanted to do it for Peoria. We got great fans and they love to see us win."
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Hannah collected 17 points with eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and a block. Hickman had 14 points after he was 5-for-9 from the field. He grabbed five rebounds with two assists. Off the bench, Christian Davis had seven eight points with three rebounds and three steals.
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"We were playing for Peoria today," Wardle said. "That is really who this program is all about. This city loves basketball and they love this team. We really appreciate and are grateful for this fan base."
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With Leons' five blocks in the game, he secured a 50 steal and 50 block season for the second season in a row. He is still the only player in Missouri Valley Conference history to record this achievement.
Looking Ahead
#3 Bradley will play #2 Cincinnati on Saturday at 1 PM in the second round of the NIT at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats defeated San Francisco in overtime on Wednesday night by a final score of 73-72. The Braves last played Cincinnati in 2008 when they won 70-67 in the College Basketball Invitational.
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The NIT bracket can be found below.
