Connor Hickman and his Bradley University teammates turned in an impressive second half Friday night in their Missouri Valley Conference Tournament opener in St. Louis.
Hickman scored 14 of his game-high 20 points after intermission as the third-seeded Braves pulled away for a 74-47 triumph over UIC in their Arch Madness quarterfinal at Enterprise Center.
Bradley (22-10) earned a semifinal matchup with No. 2 Drake, scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday. The Bulldogs rolled to a 79-59 win over Evansville. The Braves are looking to avenge a loss at Drake in the regular-season finale.
Hickman connected on six shots from 3-point range. Darius Hannah added 11 points and Duke Deen contributed 10 after being held scoreless in the first half. Malevy Leons grabbed 12 rebounds.
Bradley only led 27-25 going into halftime before seizing control with a 25-4 run over the first eight minutes of the second half.
The tourney’s top four seeds held true in the quarterfinals, as No. 1 Indiana State and No. 4 UNI advanced to face off in Saturday’s first semifinal.
