Men's Basketball

Braves Drop Tight NCAA Tournament Game to No. 5 Michigan State

Des Moines, Iowa – The Bradley men's basketball team gave the fifth-ranked team in the nation all it could handle on Thursday but in the end, Michigan State held off the Braves to earn a 76-65 victory in the NCAA Tournament First Round. The Braves' season ends with a 20-15 record after making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 13 years, while the Spartans improve to 29-6, advancing to play Minnesota on Saturday.
 
Sophomore Elijah Childs led the Braves with 19 points – connecting on 9-of-14 field goals, while adding three blocks. Junior Darrell Brown finished with 17 points and a season-best seven assists, while senior Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye added 14 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.
 
The Braves fought right from the start and raced to an early six-point lead. After Michigan State opened the scoring, Lautier-Ogunleye knocked down a 3-pointer for a 3-2 edge. Childs then scored four-straight points for the Braves before Brown hit his first triple, giving BU the 10-4 edge.
 
Michigan State answered with a 9-0 run to pull ahead by three, setting up a first half where neither team would lead by more than a single possession the rest of the way. A late 3-pointer from Nate Kennell put Bradley in front by one at the break, 35-34.
 
In the second stanza, Childs quickly got the Braves fans on their feet, scoring the first four points of the half and slamming down a one-handed fast-break dunk for a 39-34 Bradley advantage. Michigan State, though, would use a 10-0 run of its own to go in front by five, 44-39.
 
The Spartans lead reached as many as seven, 50-43, before a quick five-point spurt in just six seconds brought the Braves back into the game. Kennell intercepted a Michigan State pass and found Lautier-Ogunleye for a 3-pointer before Brown stole the inbounds and finished off a layup for a 50-48 game. Brown then sunk his third 3-pointer of the game on BU's next possession for an 8-0 run and 51-50 lead with 11:23 remaining.
 
The schools would trade the lead five times over the next five minutes with neither team leading by more than a single point. Michigan State would finally gain some breathing room when trailing 55-54, it would go on a 9-0 run for an eight-point lead with under three minutes left. The Braves would pull within five but couldn't get any closer as the Spartans made 25-of-26 free throws (96.2 percent) during the game to seal the victory.
 
Bradley finished the game shooting 42.3 percent, with a 9-of-21 clip from beyond the arc (42.9 percent). The Braves also held the Spartans to 36.7 percent shooting on the day.
 
 Game Notes: Bradley was making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2006 … The Braves are now 11-9 all-time in the tournament … Childs tied the Bradley NCAA Tournament record for blocks in a game with his three rejections … Childs also moved into fifth place in BU history with 96 career blocks as the sophomore passed teammate Koch Bar … The Braves' nine 3-pointers are the second most in BU's NCAA Tournament history – they made 11 against Kansas in 2006 … The game marked the final collegiate contest for four Braves – seniors Lautier-Ogunleye, Peter Hanley, Luqman Lundy and Luuk van Bree.