Box Score PEORIA, Illinois
— Tarleton State suffered a 86-63 loss to the Bradley Braves on Tuesday night in Carver Arena in the campus site portion of the SoCal Challenge.
Bradley remains undefeated this season and will head to the SoCal Challenge in the Surf Division against Tulane on Monday night. The Texans (2-2) will compete in the Sand Division of the SoCal Challenge.
Lue Williams and
Bubu Benjamin led the team in scoring with 16 apiece. Williams played all 40 minutes of the contest and led the team in nearly every category including: rebounds (six), free throws made (seven), steals (five) and blocks (one). Benjamin shot a game-best seven-of-nine from the floor and was two-for-two at the free throw line. Benjamin continued the streak to nine games dating back to last season where a Texan contributed 10-plus points off the bench for head coach
Billy Gillispie.
Williams opened the Texan scoring with a three-pointer on his first shot of the game to take a 3-1 lead in the first minute of play. The two squads traded points with Gaddy tying the game at 10, five minutes into the half. In a three-minute span beginning at the 17:11 mark, the Texans forced the Braves to commit five turnovers, before TSU committed any. Tarleton held the lead, 14-13 at the under-12 media timeout, when the Braves took the lead for the final time.
In the final 12 minutes of the first half, the Braves made eight three-pointers, while shooting 10-for-15 in the period. Bradley spread out the scoring with eight of their nine players that entered the contest to put points on the board. The Texans highlighted the half shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
Lue Williams led the Texans at the break with nine points and four steals.
The Braves didn't falter in the second half. Bradley freshman Almar Atlason led the team knocking down four three-pointers in the second for a game-high 18 all from beyond the arc. After being held scoreless in the first half, Tarleton's leading scorer entering the game,
Jakorie Smith scored nine points in the final 20 minutes. A season-high, 14 players saw action in the game with
Blake Brinkmeyer and
Traivar Jackson making their Texan debuts in the second half.
The Texans won the turnover battle, 15-13 and outrebounded the Braves, 29-27. Of Tarleton's 29 rebounds, 11 of them were offensive compared to Bradley's, three. The Texans notched 11 steals and 21-for-55 from the floor, a 38.2 percent clip. Bradley made the most three-pointers by a Tarleton opponent in its D1 era shooting 17-for-28, 60.7 percent from deep.
Tarleton State will have a six-day break before its first game of the SoCal Challenge in San Juan Capistrano, California against Austin Peay at 4 p.m. CT at JSerra Pavilion.
