Bradley Falls

Braves Struggle Offensively

(Omaha, NE) – Bradley fell behind early and couldn’t recover during their National Invitation Tournament loss Saturday. Only guard Connor Hickman could get it going early offensively and Bradley falls 74 to 57.

Cincinnati was energized by a boisterous home crowd and the Bearcats received explosive offensive contributions from Jizzle James (25 points), Dan Skillings Jr (20) and Simas Lukosius (17). The three combined for 62 points making 24 for 46 from the field.

Brian Wardle’s team couldn’t get Duke Deen and Darius Hannah going offensively. Those two combined to make just three of 18 shots. The normally sound defensive Braves struggled to slow down Cincinnati. Bradley allowed an uncharacteristic .491 shooting percentage and the combo of Hannah and Malevy Leons didn’t affect the game in their usual way. They combined for just two steals and no blocked shots.

Hickman finished with 14 points and Leons tallied 16. Bradley falls and sees their season end after 23 wins and a third place Missouri Valley Conference finish. The three-point line was not kind to the Braves who made just 5 of 23 from deep.

The loss ends the collegiate career of Leons with 101 games, 1,179 points, 640 rebounds, 131 assists, 127 steals and 137 blocks. The bulk of the Bradley roster and every player of significance is eligible to return next season.

This was Bradley’s second straight twenty-win season and the Braves have won 48 over the past two campaigns.

Indiana State’s NIT second round game is Sunday at 1:00 pm.

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