The Bradley men's basketball team suffered an 83-67 setback at Missouri State on Wednesday night. The Braves are now 16-13 during the 2021-22 season with a 10-7 record in Missouri Valley Conference play, while the Bears improve to 21-9 and 12-5 versus league foes.
Freshman Connor Hickman equaled his career high with 15 points, while junior Malevy Leons matched his teammate, scoring 15 to go with six rebounds.
The Bears grabbed momentum halfway through the first period thanks to a 15-4 run – turning a 19-18 edge into a 34-22 advantage. Bradley would pull within seven but four additional points in the final minute of the period gave the home team a 43-33 lead at the break.
Leons started the second half strong for BU and helped the Braves cut their deficit to six points, 51-45, less than four minutes into the period. The Bears, however, would regain the momentum and pushed their lead to as many as 13 points, 63-50.
The Braves had one final run in themselves and would pull as close as five points, 67-62, after Hickman's third triple of the game. After a timeout, however, the Bears answered with 10-straight points to secure the victory
Bradley shot 42.6 percent on the day with an 8-of-27 performance from 3-point range. The Bears, meanwhile, made 53.2 percent of their field goals, making 9-of-25 from beyond the arc.
Bradley wraps up the regular season on Saturday night, hosting Valparaiso on Senior Day. Tipoff at Carver Arena is set for 7 p.m.
Game Notes: Hickman also scored 15 points at Drake on Jan. 19 … The Braves are 1-7 this season when their opponent shoots higher than their season average in field goal percentage … The 83 points allowed by BU are the most the team surrendered this year – the previous high was 81 against South Dakota State, while the most allowed in Valley play was 78.
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