PEORIA, Ill. (AP) Walt Lemon Jr. scored 16 points and the Brave's defense held Loyola of Chicago to just 27 percent shooting , leading to a 55-38 Bradley victory on Saturday night.
Bradley (12-17, 7-9 Missouri Valley) managed just a 19-17 lead over Loyola (9-19, 4-12) at the break as tenacious defense controlled the pace.
The second period opened with Loyola's shooting accuracy still stymied by Bradley's defense, while the Braves raced to a 33-20 lead on a 14-3 run with 13:49 to play. The Bradley lead expanded to 20 points, 54-34, with 1:34 remaining.
The Ramblers scored just four points in the final 5 minutes and landed just 1 of 18 from 3-point range in its attempt to move out of the Missouri Valley cellar position.
Loyola, losers of four straight was led in scoring by Christian Thomas with 9 points.
