Peoria, IL -- The Braves Braves 20-6 (11-4 MVC) earned their 20th win of the season following a 78-64 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis 12-14 (7-8 MVC)
Looking Back
Bradley secured a 78-64 victory over Southern Illinois at Carver Arena on Monday night, improving to 20-6 on the season and 11-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play. Both teams were led by strong scoring performances, with
Duke Deen's 25 points and Ali Dibba's 29 points.
From the opening tip, Bradley came out firing, showing impressive shooting. The Braves finished the first half with 43.3% shooting from the field, and even more notably, they were lights out from beyond the arc, hitting 50% of their three-pointers. This allowed Bradley to build a comfortable 35-28 lead by halftime. Duke Deen played a pivotal role in Bradley's success, scoring 25 points with an incredible 7-of-12 performance from three-point range. Darius Hannah also had a strong showing, finishing with 15 points and 7 rebounds, while Christian Davis added 15 points to the Braves' attack. The game featured a competitive back-and-forth with nine lead changes and three ties, the majority of which came in the game's initial 15 minutes.
Southern Illinois, on the other hand, struggled to find their rhythm in the opening half. The Salukis shot just 39.3% from the field, and despite Dibba's best efforts (scoring 13 of his 29 points in the first half), they were unable to keep pace. The Salukis' long-range attack wasn't much more potent, finishing the half just 3-of-8 from deep.
In the second half, Southern Illinois made adjustments and started to click offensively, improving to 51.7% shooting from the field. However, the Braves continued to control the game, particularly with their own three-point shooting. Bradley knocked down 14-of-27 attempts from beyond the arc for the game, a key factor as the game stretched on, especially with SIU trimming a previous 21-point lead down to nine. The Salukis' run was largely fueled by Dibba's continued output, and he also received strong contributions from teammates like Drew Steffe, who scored 11 points, and Kennard Davis Jr., who added 8.
In the end, Bradley's depth and all-around execution proved to be too much. Bradley's defense, which included four blocks and six steals, also played a significant role in stifling the Salukis' offensive flow, holding Southern Illinois to just four points in the final four minutes of the game.
Despite a valiant effort from Dibba and some solid individual performances, the Salukis couldn't overcome Bradley's well-balanced attack. As a result, the Braves walk away with another important MVC win and continue to be tied with Northern Iowa for second place. Meanwhile, Southern Illinois will need to regroup as they look ahead to their next matchup with Belmont. The Salukis fall to 12-14 overall and 7-8 in MVC play, now tied for fifth place and two games out of fourth place.
A Special Night
Darius Hannah outside of his good showing in the box score will feel good about this game for a while as he was honored pregame for scoring his 1,000th career point against Belmont on Feb. 2nd as well as breaking the Bradley Men's Basketball record for most games played in a career with now 141 career games. The night also marked the 20th win of the season for the Braves which makes now six of the last eight seasons and moves Brian Wardle into a tie for the most 20-win seasons by a head coach in Bradley history with Charles Orsborn.