PEORIA, Ill. – Quentin Jones (Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic) scored 19 points and Ethan Butler (Toronto, Ontario/Southwest Academy) added 15 but the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team fell at Bradley, 76-60, on Saturday night (Nov. 16) at Carver Arena. 

The Braves closed the first half on a 7-0 run and opened the second with five-straight to help build a lead and then held the Huskies to just 32 percent (8-of-25) shooting in the second half, including 1-of-12 from three.

"We had a three-minute stretch where we didn't close out the first half," said NIU head coach Rashon Burno. "When you are on the road in a good environment, you can't have those mistakes and that pushed the Bradley lead to 10. We have to go back to the film, see what we did in those possessions and correct it. 

"We shot way too many threes. Catch-and-shoot three are always a premium, off the bounce threes, the percentage drops drastically lower and I think we settled too much. A lot to learn, but this group is resilient, and it is early in the season."

Bradley (3-1) had an early 14-9 advantage until back-to-back buckets from Jones and Quaran McPherson (South Jamaica Queens, N.Y./Link Year Prep) pulled the Huskies back within one, 14-13, with 12:22 to play in the opening half. 

McPherson finished with eight points.

Butler tied the game at 16 with a triple from the top of the key. After the Braves scored the next four, NIU went in front as Butler converted an old-fashioned three-point play and Jones finished at the rim, giving the Huskies a 21-20 lead with 9:10 to play in the opening stanza. 

NIU (2-2) was in front by three, 25-22, before Bradley used a 9-0 burst to take a 31-25 lead with 5:34 left until the intermission. 

A bucket by James Dent Jr. (Springfield, Ill./Springfield Southeast) and a corner triple from Jones pulled the Huskies back within three, 36-33, but Bradley closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 43-33 lead into halftime. 

Jones had 14 points in the opening 20 minutes to lead all scorers, Butler had 10 points while Duke Deen and Zek Montgomery each had nine points to pace the Braves. Bradley shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the field in the first half, including 4-of-5 from three. 

Bradley scored the first five to start the second half as the Braves extended their lead to 48-33. Jones netted the next five as the Huskies pulled the Bradley lead back to 48-38 with 17:20 remaining. 

A tough finish from McPherson helped him convert an old-fashioned three-point play that brought NIU within eight, 53-45, with just under 13 minutes left. 

Nasir Muhammad (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) scored to cut the Bradley lead to just a half-dozen, 53-47, before the Braves used a 10-2 burst to take a 63-49 lead with 7:22 to play. 

Five straight from Muhammad made it a 10-point Bradley advantage, 66-56, with 3:46 remaining, but that is as close as the Huskies would get as the Braves answered with an 8-0 run to put the contest out of reach. 

Muhammad finished with nine points. 

Deen had 16 points to lead the way for Bradley, Darius Hannah added 15 points while Montgomery finished with 13 and Ahmet Jonovic chipped in a dozen. 

Bradley shot 58.1 percent (25-of-43) in the contest, including 50 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range. 

NIU will return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 20, when the Huskies host Elon at 6 p.m. at the NIU Convocation Center. Tickets for Wednesday's contest, and all NIU basketball games, are available at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.