ST. LOUIS, MO. - Third-seeded Bradley rode hot shooting in the second half along with a stifling defense to overcome a slow start en route to 74-47 quarterfinal win against No. 11 seeded UIC in the quarterfinal round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Friday at the Enterprise Center.
 
The Braves moved to 22-10, while advancing to the semifinal round of the MVC Tournament for the 23rd time, including second straight year - and fourth time in the last six years. 
 
Bradley will face No. 2 seed Drake in a semifinal round game, while top-seeded Indiana State plays No. 4 seed UNI in the first semifinal round game Saturday. It will mark the 22nd time the top four seeds advanced to the semifinal round and the third time in the last four years. 
 
Bradley junior guard Connor Hickman paced the Braves with 20 points, while matching a career high with six 3-pointers.
 
Hickman scored 14 points in the second half which saw Bradley shoot a sizzling 63 percent (17-27) from the floor. After going scoreless in the first half, senior guard Duke Deen, a first team All-MVC recipient, finished with 10 points and a team-high five assists.
 
The Bradley defense was sensational, limiting UIC to four field goals in the second half and 24.1 percent shooting (13-of-54) for the game. UIC made just 3 of 24 three-point attempts (12.5 percent).  
 
UIC missed its first 14 shots to open the second half and Bradley took full advantage to quickly put the game out of reach. The Braves started the second half on a 25-4 run in the opening eight minutes to open a 52-29 lead with 12:18 left. Hickman and Hannah paced the run with eight and six points, respectively. 

The 14.8 percent shooting by UIC in the second half was the second lowest percentage in a half in MVC Tournament history, trailing 12.5 percent by UNI against Loyola in the second half of a March 5, 2022 semifinal round game. 

There were seven lead changes in the first half. Each of Bradley’s first seven baskets came off assists, enabling the Braves to take a 20-14 advantage with 10:37 left. While Bradley dominated the boards (22-12) and held UIC to 33.3 percent shooting (9-27), the Braves were hurt by 11 first-half turnovers, including nine steals by the Flames. 
 
Fifth-year senior forward Malevy Leons, a first team All-MVC performer and two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year, just missed his fourth double-double of the season with nine points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Forward Darius Hannah added 11 points and a team-high four blocked shots. 
 
The Braves outrebounded UIC, 47-28, and dished out 17 assists, their highest total since distributing 19 assists at Missouri State Feb. 21. Bradley also hit 12 of 23 three-point shots (52 percent). 
 
The Flames, who tied a season high with 12 steals, closed the season with a 12-21 record.

Freshman Nathan Ojukwu scored a team-high and career-best 10 points, all scored in the second half, and capped off by a last-minute dunk. CJ Jones, who scored 25 and 14 points in his two previous outings against Bradley, scored just two points. He did finish with three steals and five rebounds, both one shy of his season bests.