ST. LOUIS — Connor Hickman scored 20 points to lead third-seeded Bradley to a 74-47 win over 11th-seeded UIC in the Missouri Valley Conference quarterfinals Friday night.
The Braves (22-10) will face second-seed Drake in the second of two semifinals Saturday.
Darius Hannah added 11 points while shooting 5 of 9 from the field and had seven rebounds and four blocks. Demarion Burch added 10 points.
Nathan Ojukwu scored 10 points to lead the Flames (12-21). Toby Okani added nine points and three steals.
Bradley took the lead with 13 minutes, 31 seconds left in the first half and did not give it up. The Braves pulled away with a 16-1 run in the second half to extend a two-point lead to 17. They outscored UIC by 25 points as Hickman led the way with a team-high 14 second-half points.
Drake 79, Evansville 58
Tucker DeVries had 19 points, six rebounds and six assists in the second-seeded Bulldogs’ victory. Atin Wright scored 12 points, and Kyron Gibson finished with 10 points for Drake (25-6).
Yacine Toumi had 14 points, nine rebounds and two steals for the Purple Aces (16-16), who lost their seventh straight.
Northern Iowa 67, Belmont 62
Tytan Anderson had 19 points, 19 rebounds and three steals for the fourth-seeded Panthers (20-13), who advanced to play top-seeded Indiana State in the semifinals Saturday.
Jacob Hutson added 14 points and Nate Heise 13 points for UNI.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie led the Bruins (19-12) with 17 points, Malik Dia added 14 and Cade Tyson 11.
Indiana State 75, Missouri State 59
Ryan Conwell scored 20 points, Robbie Avila added 14 and the top-seeded Sycamores (27-5) reached the semifinals of the MVC Tournament.
Donovan Clay finished with 18 points and N.J. Benson added 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks for the Bears (17-16).
