Drake outlasts Indiana St

Mar 10, 2024, 05:32 PM ET ST. LOUIS– Tucker DeVries scored 27 points, Darnell Brodie had four of his 17 in the last 67 seconds and Drake protected its Missouri Valley Conference tournament title for an NCAA berth with an 84-80 win over Indiana State on Sunday despite blowing an 18-point lead in the last 10 minutes.The second-seeded Bulldogs(28-7)recovered down the stretch with a 10-2 run in the last 3 1/2 minutes to make their seventh journey to the NCAA competition while matching the school record for wins.Drake Going Dancing – 7th NCAA tournament look(consists of 2 straight

and 3 of last 4 years)- 3rd conference competition championship (consisting of second straight)- 6-6 all time in NCAA tournament (last win: 2021 First Four vs
Wichita State; made 3 consecutive Elite 8 looks from 1969-71 )- 1st MVC group to win successive titles as 2 seed vs 1 seed since Creighton in 2002-03 – Tucker DeVries: 5th in Division I in scoring (21.8 PPG)and is one of 5 players
with 1,800 points considering that the 2021-22 season in addition to Zach Edey, Max Abmas, Drew Pember and Marques Warrick– ESPN Statistics & Details DeVries, the two-time MVC Gamer of the Year, hit a 3-pointer midway through the second half for a 67-49 lead. But

Isaiah Swope led the charge back, striking back-to-back 3-pointers and converting a four-point play with 4:08 to play that provided the top-seeded Sycamores a 73-72 lead, their first since 2-0. Swope made three complimentary tosses for a 76-74 lead with 3:36 to go however DeVries connected the game and Conor Enright it a 3-pointer with 2 minutes to

go. Brodie had the next four indicate make it 83-78. “Credit Indiana State for never giving up, continuing to battle,”Drake coach Darian DeVries said. “I thought our guys revealed extraordinary willpower there when all the momentum was gone … just make the plays we required to do. I’m extremely proud of them. “Atin Wright had 19 points for Drake, which was 11 of 18 from 3-point variety (61%)and 31 of 60 general. The Bulldogs had 10 new players been available in after winning last year’s title.

“There’s been a lot of tough times throughout this year however the strength of this group, it’s been a great deal of fun,”Tucker DeVries stated.”There’s no better way to do it than with 10 new guys.

You look back to June, we had a long ways to go. To get to this point is actually special. “Editor’s Picks 2 Related Jayson Kent, who had six points in the 24-5 rally, had 22 points and 9 rebounds for the Sycamores (28-6 ), who were attempting to get to their fifth NCAA competition and first because 2011. Swope had all 19 of his points in the

2nd half. Robbie Avila included 15, Ryan Conwell 13 and Julian Larry 10. Indiana State was 7 of 24 from distance, 24 of 35 on two-pointers. The Bulldogs hit their first seven 3-pointers, the last coming at the 7:36 mark of the very first half when Wright pinched hit a 37-23 lead.

Cornwell scored seven-straight points for the Sycamores, but Devries scored in the last minute for a 45-32 halftime lead.