After setting a program record for most made three-pointers in its dominant win against Judson, Bradley’s men’s basketball team (8-1, 1-0 MVC) faced its first conference opponent, Southern Illinois (3-6, 0-1 MVC), on Tuesday night and won the game 80-63.
The Braves offense continued to hum against the Salukis, shooting nearly 51 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from behind the arch.
The team’s offense has been off to an excellent start. After the game against Southern Illinois, Bradley leads the country in effective field goal percentage and ranks second in three-point percentage, 31st in offensive efficiency and 57th in average scoring margin.
Four Braves led the team in scoring; on Tuesday, it was senior Zek Montgomery’s turn.
The preseason all-conference second-team selection showed why coaches and athletic administrators predicted he would be one of the best players in the conference. Montgomery started hot, scoring 18 of his 22 points in the first half to help open up a 17-point halftime lead.
“I think my team feeds off me well when I’m very hot,” Montgomery said. “They keep pushing me to keep shooting the ball. When I get hot, it gets everyone else involved. When everyone else is involved, it’s hard to beat us.”
Because their offense was efficient, Bradley’s defense could limit fast break points for Southern Illinois and play set defense. The Braves held the Salukis to 45 percent from the field and 28 percent from three.
Bradley created six turnovers, which led to eight points. Bradley held sophomore wing Kennard Davis Jr., who is on the watch list for the Larry Bird Trophy, given to the best player in the MVC every year, to seven points on two-for-eight shooting in the first half.
“We put Christian Davis on him,” head coach Brian Wardle said. “I think he had 15 shots with 14 points. That’s fine. Someone’s going to score, I always say that, but we want to make it inefficient. Christian Davis did a good job on him.”
In the second half, the Braves faced some adversity when senior guard Duke Deen left the game with an injury.
Fortunately, freshman Jaquan Johnson was ready to step in and help Bradley secure the win. The Milwaukee native finished with nine points, three rebounds and five assists and competed well on the defensive end.
“I just came in confident,” Johnson said. “The coaches always preach to be ready when your name is called. Duke went out today, so I had to step it up. We needed some stops, so I got a couple of steals. I play for the team, so it was doing what we do daily.”
The Braves get a 10-day break before returning to action on Dec. 18 against University of San Francisco.
