Bradley Braves vs Drake Bulldogs
Thomas leads Bradley past Drake, 67-58 and into quarters
ST. LOUIS -- Donte Thomas scored 17 points and No. 7 seed Bradley beat No. 10 seed Drake, 67-58 in a first-round Missouri Valley Conference Tournament game Thursday night at the Scottrade Center.
The Braves advance to the quarterfinals on Friday night, where they face No. 2 seed Wichita State.
Thomas hit a layup, a jumper and another layup to get Bradley started in the second half, but Drake hung on with a pair of Reed Timmer 3-pointers but could never overtake the Braves (13-19).
Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye added 11 points and Koch Bar and Darrell Brown each contributed 10 more as Bradley shot 23 of 53 from the field (43.4 percent), including 5 of 15 from 3-point range.
Drake (7-24) got 13 points from De'Antae McMurray, 12 from T.J. Thomas and 11 from Timmer while shooting 32.8 percent (19 of 58).
Game Information
St. Louis, MO
Referee:Kelly Self
Referee:Paul Janssen
Referee:Bert Smith
2025-26 Standings
| Missouri Valley Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | 16-4 | - | 26-6 |
| Bradley | 13-7 | 3 | 21-13 |
| Illinois State | 12-8 | 4 | 23-13 |
| Murray State | 12-8 | 4 | 20-13 |
| UIC | 12-8 | 4 | 19-16 |
| Northern Iowa | 11-9 | 5 | 23-13 |
| Valparaiso | 11-9 | 5 | 18-15 |
| Southern Illinois | 10-10 | 6 | 16-16 |
| Drake | 6-14 | 10 | 14-20 |
| Indiana State | 4-16 | 12 | 11-21 |
| Evansville | 3-17 | 13 | 7-25 |
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