Kissimmee, FL - The Bradley Braves earned a dominate win over the Princeton Tigers 88-64.
The Braves made a statement in the first round of the ESPN Events Inviational with an 88-64 win over the Princeton Tigers. It was a total team win for the Braves that saw four Braves end in double figures and multiple record career highs in either points, rebounds, or assists.
Timoty van der Knaap earned player of the game honors with 15 points, eight rebounds, and one steal, other Braves with big nights include
Jaquan Johnson with 13 points, three rebounds and six steals along side
Montana Wheeler's team leading 16 points, six assists and one steal.
The two sides battle evenly for nearly the entirety of the first half before the Braves mounted a quick 6-0 scoring run from back-to-back triples from
Timoty van der Knaap and
Alex Huibregtse to put the Braves up 40-34. Headed into the halftime break nine different Braves scored in the first 20 minutes. BU lit it up from the floor shooting 52% overall and 47% from beyond the three-point line.
As soon as the second half started the Braves put the pedal down jumping out to a double digit lead off the back of
Jaquan Johnson's 10 point outburst over the course of two minutes. From there, it was the
Montana Wheeler show as the freshman recorded 13 of his 16 points in the second half on 6/8 shooting from the floor and a 4/6 mark from outside.
BU would put the finishing touches on the win following a few minute scoring drought from both sides. Bradley will face UC San Diego in the semifinal round at 4:00 p.m. CST on ESPN2 which will be available for streaming on ESPN+. UC San Diego is now 5-0 after advancing earlier today with a win over the Temple Owls 91-76, The Tritons had a balanced attack with four double digit scorers in Masiah Gilyard, Jordan Mason, Derrian Ford, and Gavin Griffiths.