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Drake knocks out Bradley 65-49

Sports

March 2nd, 2012 by Ric Hanson

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rayvonte Rice scored 18 points and Ben Simons had 16 as Drake defeated Bradley 65-49 Thursday night in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. The seventh-seeded Bulldogs (17-14) advance to the quarterfinals on Friday when they’ll face No. 2 seed Creighton. Drake finished in a five-way tie for third place at 9-9 in the Missouri Valley — its second-highest finish in 26 years — but tiebreakers dropped the Bulldogs to the No. 7 seed. Walt Lemon scored 16 points and Dyricus Simms-Edwards had 14 for 10th-seeded Bradley (7-25), which shot 34 percent from the field and hit just 4 of 20 3-point attempts. Drake, which beat Bradley for the third time this season, dominated inside with a 40-22 advantage on points in the paint.