Despite being down by as many as 18 points, No. 5 seed Bradley University came back to defeat No. 6 seed University of Northern Iowa 57-54 in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) tournament championship game at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis Sunday afternoon.
The Braves, who started MVC play 0-5, will get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Braves trailed by 12 points at halftime, but made 15 of 26 shots in the second half and took their first lead with 3:44 remaining in the game. Sophomore guard Elijah Childs led the comeback with 16 points, while senior guard Dwayne Lautier Ogunleye had 13 points — including four straight free throws after a technical foul with 1:58 remaining to put the Braves ahead 53-50.