Bradley 83, Tulsa 74

4/2/2008 8:58 PM

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) -Jeremy Crouch scored 20 points to help Bradley force a deciding third game in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational championship series with a 83-74 victory over Tulsa on Wednesday night.

Crouch hit five 3-pointers and finished 7-for-13 from the field. Andrew Warren added 17 points, including four 3-pointers. Theron Wilson had 13 points, and Daniel Ruffen had 12 for Bradley (21-16).

Tulsa (24-14) won Game 1 73-68 on Monday night. Game 3 of the best-of-three series will be Friday night at Tulsa.

The Braves' defense forced several miscues from the Golden Hurricane on Wednesday. Bradley scored 16 points off Tulsa's 12 turnovers. Bradley turned the ball over seven times for three points.

The Braves led by as many as 18 points with 12:33 remaining before Tulsa tightened the game in the final three minutes.

The Braves dominated the first half and led the Golden Hurricane 48-34 at halftime.

Crouch, a senior guard known mainly as a 3-point specialist, had the night's best play. With seconds left in the first half, Crouch missed a free throw, grabbed his own rebound directly under the basket and flipped a no-look, behind-the-back pass to teammate David Collins for an easy lay-up.

Junior forward Ray Reese led the Golden Hurricane with 19 points, going 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Brett McDade added 12 points, and Jerome Jordan had 11 points and eight rebounds.