Bradley tops Loyola in NIT opener, 74-62

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Duke Deen scored 18 points and Darius Hannah added 17 to lead Bradley past Loyola, 74-62, in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament at Carver Arena on Wednesday.

Bradley roared out to a 10-0 lead and had a 36-19 halftime lead on their former Missouri Valley Conference rivals.

Loyola, which trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half, trimmed Bradley’s led at two, 54-52, with just over six minutes to play. Deen then hit a critical three-pointer from the left wing to give Bradley a five-point lead.

Hannah had a key reverse lay-up with 1:30 to play and an alley-oop dunk off an assist from Deen with 58 seconds left to close the win for third-seeded Bradley, which was hosting an NIT game for the first time since 2007. The Braves will travel to Cincinnati for a second round game on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The second-seed Bearcats beat San Francisco in overtime, 73-72, in their first round game.

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