Game Eighteen Recap: Bradley @ Southern Illinois

62	68

Revenge isn't so sweet when you're on the receiving end of it. Southern Illinois answered Bradley's drubbing in Peoria with a lopsided victory in Carbondale.

Even though the final score doesn't reflect it, Southern Illinois (8-10, 3-4) soundly beat the visiting Braves 68-62 at SIU Arena on Sunday night. Bradley (11-7, 5-2) trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half before chipping away in the final minutes.

Credit the Braves for the typical resiliency that every one of Les' teams have shown. With 1:39 to play, SIU led 57-43. Yet, when most teams would have begun warming the bus, Bradley kept fighting and got the game as close as four points with seven seconds left.

Unfortunately, that's where the positives ended.

Some of the most troublesome numbers included 20 turnovers, seven assists and 9-of-19 from the free throw line (47.4 percent). These stats don't lead to many road wins, especially at SIU arena.

Bradley led 12-9 going into a media timeout with 11:47 left in the first half. Sloppy offensive play and stifling SIU defense resulted in the Braves getting outscored 23-5 for the rest of the half. Guard Sam Maniscalco made a jumper (his only basket of the game) with 6:17 in the first half, which ended up being Bradley's last hoop from the floor until halftime.

Guard Chris Roberts had his third straight game where he failed to score more than five points. He only contributed four for the Braves, as well as committing six turnovers and securing only two rebounds.

Even high scorer Theron Wilson didn't have a spectacular game. He had to take 20 shots in order to get to his 22 point total. The senior forward's performance on the glass was impressive though, grabbing a career high 16 rebounds.

Bradley did get a pretty solid performance from guard Darian Norris. He continues to play his role of "disruptor" on defense, swiping more three steals. In his six conference games playing limited minutes, Norris now has eight steals.

Next game:

The team won't have long to dwell on this loss. The brutal stretch for Bradley finally ends with one more road game, this one at conference leader Northern Iowa. The Braves could move back into first place with a victory at a place where they've played fairly well overall. Bradley has won two of its last three games in Cedar Falls.

Bradley at Northern Iowa, 7:05 p.m. Wednesday (1/21)