PEORIA, Ill. - Bradley junior guard Andrew Warren (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep), who red-shirted the 2009-10 season with a broken foot, hit his first six field goal attempts and all six free throw attempts en route to a team-high 21 points, leading the Braves to a 68-63 exhibition victory versus NCAA Division II Lewis (0-2 exhibitions) Sunday afternoon at Carver Arena.

With 10 Bradley players logging between 10 and 24 minutes, sophomore forward Taylor Brown (Atlanta, Ga./Dunwoody H.S.) was Bradley's only other double-digit scorer with 12 points and the 6-foot-6 forward added a team-best eight rebounds. Lewis guard Dennis Thomas, Jr. shared game-high scoring honors with 21 points, while fellow guard Chris McClellan added 16 points. Flyers center Mary Strus pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds.

Coming off its first exhibition game at Notre Dame, where Lewis led with less than 15 minutes remaining, the Flyers put up another stiff challenge in the second of their three exhibitions against NCAA Division I opponents. Sunday's game featured seven ties and 15 lead changes before the Bradley senior guard Dodie Dunson (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington H.S.) gave the Braves the lead for good, 43-41, with an interior bucket with 11:46 remaining.

Dunson's basket launched a 13-2 Bradley surge that included a pair of Warren hoops and ended with a Will Egolf putback basket for a 54-43 advantage with 7:16 remaining. Two Egolf free throws with 4:28 left gave the Braves a 60-50 lead and Bradley rode the game out with an inexperienced lineup, including the team's quartet of freshmen joined by Dunson for the game's final 2:29.

Guard Jake Eastman scored on a rebound basket for a 64-55 lead with 2:11 remaining, fellow freshman guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards made two free throws with 25 seconds left and Dunson delivered two clutch charity shots with 15 seconds remaining to thwart a late Lewis rally.

Warren, who was a preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference selection in 2008-09 after averaging 13.2 points per game as a sophomore two seasons ago, missed the entire 2009-10 season with a stress fracture. He re-injured the foot last spring and had a second surgery that forced him to sit out Bradley's five August games in Brazil. He wasted little time in shaking off the rust of inactivity, though, draining a transition 3-pointer with 12:54 left in the first half, just 50 seconds after subbing into the game for the first time. Warren hit his first three 3-point tries and also made all six of his free throws after being fouled on two other 3-point attempts.

Like Warren, the 6-foot-9 Egolf also redshirted last season after suffering a torn ACL Nov. 29, 2008 versus East Tennessee State. The third-year sophomore got the starting nod for the Braves Sunday and finished with six points, four rebounds, all offensive, and a blocked shot in his 15 minutes.

Coming off its fourth consecutive season with at least 21 victories and a runner-up finish in the 2009 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, Bradley will open its 106th season Friday night at Brigham Young. The game against the Cougars, the defending Mountain West Conference co-champions and a NCAA Tournament participant in 2009, will be the first game in the inaugural Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge. The Braves will return home for a quick turnaround by taking on Idaho State in a 6:05 p.m. tilt Sunday at Carver Arena.

Courtesy: Bradley Sports Information