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PEORIA, Ill. – Missouri State scored the game's last nine points and erased a 14-point second-half deficit to turn back Bradley here Saturday, 69-64, for MSU's second straight Missouri Valley Conference road victory.
 
The Bears (8-9, 2-2 MVC) got a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds from Tulio Da Silva for his first double-double with Missouri State. Jarred Dixon also added 15 points for the Bears who forced 21 turnovers.
 
Bradley (8-9, 0-4 MVC) was led by Darrell Brown with 12 points.
 
After chipping away most of the second half, the Bears finally took the lead with 43 seconds to play on a driving bucket off the glass by Keandre Cook. Cook hit a key 3-pointer nearly a minute earlier to cut the Bears' deficit to one.
 
From there, the Bears got a key steal from Ross Owens with 15.7 seconds to go while Josh Webster and Dixon combined to go 4-4 at the foul stripe in the final 15 seconds to ice the win.
 
MSU's defense did not allow a Bradley two-point field goal after a put-back by Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye with 15:46 to play. In fact, the Braves managed just two field goals – both threes – the rest of the game. 
 
MSU survived a nearly-fatal two-and-a-half minute stretch to start the second half. The Bears' two-point halftime deficit grew to 14 on a 12-2 Bradley run that gave the home side its biggest lead of the night, 48-34 with 14:46 to go.
 
The Bears responded with 10 of the game's next 12 points to get within 48-42 with 11:45 remaining thanks to a 3-point play by Dixon.
 
Dixon, Da Silva and Kabir Mohammed then teamed up to get the Bears within 54-49 with just over eight minutes to go, and Da Silva took over from there, getting the Bears within 59-57 on a pair of free throws before the four-minute mark.
 
MSU got within one of the Braves after Ryan Kreklow made one-of-two free throws at the 3:37 mark after BU coach Brian Wardle was whistled for a technical foul.
 
Bradley extended its lead to four once again over the next two minutes, getting to the free throw line twice to go up 64-60.  But then Cook dropped in a 3-pointer with 97 seconds to play before his go-ahead bucket off the glass at the 43-second mark.
 
Bradley missed its last two shots of the night in the final minute, including an air ball 3-point attempt by Brown with 8.5 seconds remaining that could have tied the game. Instead, the Bears got the team rebound, and Dixon iced two free throws to put the game out of reach.
 
MSU finished 27-of-51 (.529) from the field overall and just 2-of-13 (.154) from three, despite Cook's late-game heroics from the top of the key. The Bears were also 13-of-19 (.684) from the stripe, including 12-of-14 in the second half.
 
Bradley out-rebounded the Bears 30-24 but finished 18-of-42 (.429) overall, 10-of-19 (.526) from three and 18-of-25 (.720) from the foul line with 21 mishaps.
 
In the first half, the Bears shot greater than 54 percent but trailed 30-28 at the midway point. 
 
Bradley used a 7-2 surge to gain a 16-11 edge midway through the opening period, but the Bears responded with five unanswered points of their own to knot the score at 16-16.
 
Bradley then drained its fifth trey of the half to lead by three. The Bears tied it up twice more, including a coast-to-coast layup by Da Silva that made it 28-28 with 93 seconds before the intermission.
 
The Bears return to JQH Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 16 to play Evansville at 7 p.m. At halftime of the Evansville game, 235 Missouri State student-athletes will be recognized for academic excellence during the fall term as part of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll ceremony.
 
Tickets for the Evansville game are available now at MissouriStateBears.com or by visiting the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena, (417) 836-7678, during regular box office hours.