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Final Stats--
Bradley Rides Early Surges to Sixth Straight Win --
PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley senior point guard Daniel Ruffin (Peoria, Ill./Peoria H.S.) scored a career-best 25 points and dished out a game-high seven assists, while junior forward Theron Wilson (Topeka, Kan./Highland Park H.S.) turned in his second career double-double with 13 points and a career-best 13 rebounds, leading the streaking Braves to an 83-71 Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball victory versus visiting Missouri State (11-13, 4-8 MVC) Wednesday night at Carver Arena.
Bradley (14-10, 7-5 MVC) climbed into a three-way tie for third place in The Valley standings with its sixth consecutive win. After struggling at the start of the league race with an injured Ruffin out of action, Bradley also won its fifth consecutive “return” game, dating back to last season, in the double round-robin Valley schedule, avenging a 91-80 loss to the Bears Jan. 2 in Springfield.
Bradley smothered Missouri State with a 14-4 spurt to start each half. After building the cushion to as many as 19 points on two occassions in the first half, Bradley’s initial burst to start the second half pushed its lead to a game-high 29 points, 50-21, when senior guard Jeremy Crouch (Pekin, Ill./Pekin H.S.) buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 15:25 remaining.
Missouri State finally got their offense untracked and countered with a 19-3 run to make things interesting, but the Bears never really threatened the rest of the way. After Missouri State closed the gap to 63-54 on a Justin Fuehrmeyer corner 3-pointer with 5:58 left, Crouch answered with his third trey of the night to push the lead back to double-digits, 66-54. Bradley had only two more baskets the rest of the game, but the Braves sank 11-of-13 free throws down the stretch to maintain their double-digit advantage.
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half, but while Bradley’s 8-for-27 (.296) effort was only slightly better than Missouri State’s 7-for-26 (.269) showing, the Braves forced 16 first-half turnovers from their visitors and made 15-of-16 (.938 ) free throws in the opening frame. Both teams heated up in the second half, shooting at least 50 percent from the field, highlighted by Bradley’s 7-for-11 (.636) effort from behind the 3-point line. The Braves ended the game 12-for-27 (.444) from 3-point range and added a season-best 29 free throws.
In addition to the efforts by Ruffin and Wilson, sophomore guard Andrew Warren (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) poured in 19 points for the Braves and Crouch chipped in with 16. Deven Mitchell led Missouri State with 17 points, Dale Lamberth added a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Fuehrmeyer scored 14 points off the bench.
Bradley will shoot for its seventh straight win overall and in its rivalry series versus Illinois State when the Braves visit Redbird Arena Saturday night. Bradley has not won seven in a row overall since a seven-game streak that carried the Braves to the championship game of the 2006 State Farm MVC Tournament, a ride that produced an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, Bradley has not won seven straight in league play since winning the final seven games of the 1996-97 season. Finally, a win Saturday at Illinois State would equal the longest winning streak either team has enjoyed in the rivalry, which dates back to the 1904-05 season.
Bradley Rides Early Surges to Sixth Straight Win --
PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley senior point guard Daniel Ruffin (Peoria, Ill./Peoria H.S.) scored a career-best 25 points and dished out a game-high seven assists, while junior forward Theron Wilson (Topeka, Kan./Highland Park H.S.) turned in his second career double-double with 13 points and a career-best 13 rebounds, leading the streaking Braves to an 83-71 Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball victory versus visiting Missouri State (11-13, 4-8 MVC) Wednesday night at Carver Arena.
Bradley (14-10, 7-5 MVC) climbed into a three-way tie for third place in The Valley standings with its sixth consecutive win. After struggling at the start of the league race with an injured Ruffin out of action, Bradley also won its fifth consecutive “return” game, dating back to last season, in the double round-robin Valley schedule, avenging a 91-80 loss to the Bears Jan. 2 in Springfield.
Bradley smothered Missouri State with a 14-4 spurt to start each half. After building the cushion to as many as 19 points on two occassions in the first half, Bradley’s initial burst to start the second half pushed its lead to a game-high 29 points, 50-21, when senior guard Jeremy Crouch (Pekin, Ill./Pekin H.S.) buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 15:25 remaining.
Missouri State finally got their offense untracked and countered with a 19-3 run to make things interesting, but the Bears never really threatened the rest of the way. After Missouri State closed the gap to 63-54 on a Justin Fuehrmeyer corner 3-pointer with 5:58 left, Crouch answered with his third trey of the night to push the lead back to double-digits, 66-54. Bradley had only two more baskets the rest of the game, but the Braves sank 11-of-13 free throws down the stretch to maintain their double-digit advantage.
Both teams struggled from the floor in the first half, but while Bradley’s 8-for-27 (.296) effort was only slightly better than Missouri State’s 7-for-26 (.269) showing, the Braves forced 16 first-half turnovers from their visitors and made 15-of-16 (.938 ) free throws in the opening frame. Both teams heated up in the second half, shooting at least 50 percent from the field, highlighted by Bradley’s 7-for-11 (.636) effort from behind the 3-point line. The Braves ended the game 12-for-27 (.444) from 3-point range and added a season-best 29 free throws.
In addition to the efforts by Ruffin and Wilson, sophomore guard Andrew Warren (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) poured in 19 points for the Braves and Crouch chipped in with 16. Deven Mitchell led Missouri State with 17 points, Dale Lamberth added a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Fuehrmeyer scored 14 points off the bench.
Bradley will shoot for its seventh straight win overall and in its rivalry series versus Illinois State when the Braves visit Redbird Arena Saturday night. Bradley has not won seven in a row overall since a seven-game streak that carried the Braves to the championship game of the 2006 State Farm MVC Tournament, a ride that produced an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, Bradley has not won seven straight in league play since winning the final seven games of the 1996-97 season. Finally, a win Saturday at Illinois State would equal the longest winning streak either team has enjoyed in the rivalry, which dates back to the 1904-05 season.