PEORIA—History proved be the theme as Bradley (17-16) rallied from an 11-point, second-half deficit to earn a 75-69 win against Green Bay (18-16) in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Wednesday night at Renaissance Coliseum.
Playing the first postseason tournament game on campus since 1982, Bradley converted 21-of-24 free throw attempts in the second half, part of a 51-point outburst after the break, to rally from a 37-26 deficit with 19:00 left, as well as a 49-39 hole with 12:43 remaining.
Bradley point guard Walt Lemon, Jr. scored 21 points, matched a career-high with nine rebounds, dished out seven assists, blocked two shots and made off with two steals, a stat-stuffing performance worthy of joining Braves legend Hersey Hawkins (1987-88) as the only players in Missouri Valley Conference history to achieve 500 points (514), 100 rebounds (134), 100 assists (121) and 70 steals (72) in a single season.
In addition, Lemon (72) and Dyricus Simms-Edwards (85) combined for three steals to push their combined season total to 157 thefts, breaking the MVC single-season record for steals by teammates, previously set by Tulsa’s Paul Pressey (96) and Mike Anderson (59), who combined for 155 steals in 1980-81.  With nine steals overall, Bradley also set the single-season school record with 308 thefts on the season.
Those notes overshadowed the fact that sixth-year senior center Will Egolf scored a career-best 22 points, while senior swingman Jake Eastman ripped down a career-best 13 rebounds.
Green Bay forward Alec Brown scored a game-high 23 points and point guard Keifer Sykes chipped in with 18, while Jordan Fouse grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
Lemon (16) and Simms-Edwards (14) combined for 30 points in the second half, including all 16 points during a 16-4 outburst in a span of 4:02 that turned a 54-45 deficit into a 61-58 lead with 4:40 remaining. After a 3-point play from Brown, Tyshon Pickett gave the Braves the lead for good, 63-61, by sinking a pair of free throws with 3:37 left.
In another historical twist, Bradley will host Tulane in Saturday’s CIT second round.  The Green Wave was the opponent in the third round of the 1982 NIT, Bradley’s last opponent in Robertson Memorial Field House.