Missouri Valley Conference Tournament: No. 5 Bradley will play No. 2 Southern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship Sunday after the Braves upset No. 1 Wichita State 60-52. Senior guard Marcellus Sommerville was one of two Braves to register a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, a career-high mark. Sophomore forward Patrick O’Bryant added 17 points and 10 rebounds to help Bradley beat the Shockers for the first time in three attempts this season. Regardless of the outcome Sunday, Bradley has made a strong case for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Salukis also took strides to move from the bubble into the field of 65 after defeating No. 6 Northern Iowa 55-46 in overtime. In front of a record crowd for a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament game, the Salukis won a defensive masterpiece in which neither team scored more than 20 points in a half. Freshman guard Bryan Mullins forced the overtime period on a late layup, and sophomore forward Matt Shaw scored six points in overtime to help the Salukis take control of the game.
[3/04/06]
