Evansville breezes to 68-44 victory over Bradley

Jan 6, 2018, 11:37 pm

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Ryan Taylor hit four 3-pointers and scored 21 and Dru Smith had 14 points and six assists to lead Evansville to a 68-44 romp over Bradley on Saturday.

Blake Simmons chipped in with 12 points, five assists and three steals for Evansville (11-6, 1/3 Missouri Valley Conference), which shot 49 percent from the floor, made 8 of 15 from 3-point range and made all 10 of its free throws. Dainius Chatkevisius grabbed seven rebounds to help Evansville control the boards 35-22.

Taylor scored the last five points in a 20-4 run and the Purple Aces pulled away from a tie at 10 to lead 30-14. Noah Frederking's jumper pushed the lead to 21 midway through the second half and Evansville coasted to snap a four-game slide.

Donte Thomas topped the Braves (12-5, 2-2) with 12 points, while Elijah Childs scored 10. Bradley made just 15 of 43 shots (35 percent) and hit 3 of 14 from long range.