Bradley defeats Drake 73-61, seals MVC regular season title

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Connor Hickman's 19 points helped Bradley defeat Drake 73-61 on Sunday night to win the Missouri Valley Conference's regular season title.

Hickman shot 7 for 11 (4 for 5 from 3-point range) and 1 of 3 from the free-throw line for the Braves (23-8, 16-4). Rienk Mast added 12 points while shooting 5 of 7 from the field and 2 for 3 from the foul line, and he also had 13 rebounds. Malevy Leons shot 3 of 3 from the field and 4 for 4 from the charity stripe to finish with 12 points, while adding three steals. The Braves extended their winning streak to 10 games.

D.J. Wilkins finished with 14 points and two steals for the Bulldogs (24-7, 15-5). Drake also got 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals from Roman Penn. Darnell Brodie also had 12 points. The loss broke the Bulldogs' 10-game winning streak.

The game was tight going into the half, as Bradley held a three-point lead, 37-34. Hickman paced their team in scoring through the first half with 11 points. Bradley took the lead for what would be the final time on Hickman's layup with 15:17 remaining in the second half. His team would outscore Drake by nine points in the final half.

Bradley, the No. 1 seed, and second-seeded Drake, earned a first-round bye the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The teams play Friday in the quarterfinals.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.