The Braves have earned their best start to begin a season in nearly 40 years following a 69-60 home win over Missouri State.
The Bradley Braves won a closely contested affair with the Missouri State Bears on Saturday, January 4th, 2025, with a score of 69-60. The win gives the Braves a 4-0 record in MVC play and an overall record of 13-2, while Missouri State drops to 7-8 overall and 0-4 in MVC play.
Game Recap
The Braves and Bears engaged in another defensive, gritty battle, a characteristic of this series over the previous 72 meetings, and this game was no different. Neither team shot particularly efficiently from the floor, but the biggest difference was the Braves' ability to hit timely shots and outwork the Bears on the glass. Bradley finished the game with a +5 rebounding margin, and at one point, they led by as much as +11. Darius Hannah, Christian Davis, and Corey Thomas led the way for Bradley, with the trio combining for 48 of the Braves' 69 points. Davis was flawless all night for BU, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Hannah caught fire in the second half, scoring 11 of his points in the game's final frame. Thomas set the tone early for BU, nearly recording a double-double in the first half with 10 points and seven rebounds.
As the game wore on, the Braves slowly began to pull away by getting to the free-throw line. The game was eventually capped off by a 10-point scoring burst from Davis and Deen, who each hit a pair of three-pointers, along with layups from Montgomery and Hannah. While Bradley's offense has been the story this season, in the second half against Missouri State, the Braves held the Bears to just 48 points until the 3:09 mark of the game, which was more than enough for the Braves to secure the win.
For the first time since....
It's been a while since Bradley has been this hot to the midway point of the season but just how long has it been? Bradley hasn't been 4-0 in MVC play since 2008-09 (16 years) and hasn't been 5-0 to begin league play since the 1985-86 season (39 years) when the Braves went a perfect 16-0 in the Valley, 32-3 overall and were ranked in the top-10 in the of AP Poll. Bradley is also off to one of the programs best 15-game starts with 13 wins through 15 tries which is good enough to be T-5th best in program history.
BRADLEY'S BEST 15-GAME STARTS TO A SEASON
1. 1950-51 (15-0)
2. 1985-86 (14-1)
1947-48 (14-1)
1959-60 (14-1)
5. 1965-66 (13-2)
2024-25 (13-2)
What's Next?
The Bradley Braves will be back in action Wednesday night at 6 PM CST on CBS Sports Network when they welcome the Drake Bulldogs to Carver Arena in a matchup of the Valley's two highest rated teams. The Bulldogs are currently 12-1 on the season after dropping their last road contest to UIC, and are in action today against the Murray State Racers.