Author

Joel Osborne writes

Posted Thursday, March 21st 2019 @BristolSportJO

Flyers Academy graduate to compete in March Madness

Thursday, March 21st 2019

Bristol Flyers and SGS Basketball Academy graduate Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye is set to compete for Bradley Braves in the NCAA Tournament this evening.

The NCAA Tournament, which is used to decide the national college championship, is a 68-team knockout competition held in March and April every year and is watched by millions around the world.

The former Great Britain Under-20 star posted 13 points, six rebounds and three assists on Sunday to lead the Braves to a a 57-54 comeback victory against Northern Iowa and lift the Missouri Valley Conference Championship for the first time in 31 years - earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

No caption necessary. Just awesome‼️ pic.twitter.com/QTOMTvHFO4
— Andreas Kapoulas (@CoachKapoulas) March 11, 2019

Lautier-Ogunleye gained a full athletic scholarship to Bradley University in 2015, after playing three seasons under Andreas Kapoulas at the SGS Basketball Academy.

The 6ft4in in guard made 31 BBL appearances for the Flyers in 2014/15, averaging 8.7 points to go along with 2.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Now playing under Head Coach Brian Wardle, Dwayne became the fourth player in Bradley history to reach 1,000 career points, 500 career rebounds and 300 career assists.

"We are so proud of Dwayne and what he has achieved in his four years with Bradley University,” said Coach Kapoulas.

“I had the privilege to be with him for a few days during his last two home games before the conference tournament started and It was evident to see the impact that he has made to the Bradley programme. Everyone speaks so highly of him and the accolades speak for themselves.”

“His dream to win the conference championship and play in the NCAA tournament has come true and it’s nothing better to see than young hard-working people achieve what they set out to do. We really believe in him, he is ready for it and we look forward to following him in the Big Dance!”

DLO starts his campaign on Thursday evening, looking for a huge upset win over No 5 Michigan State Spartans, with tip-off set for 1.45pm CT (6.45pm GMT).