Drake freshman Luke McDonald out-dualed Illinois State scoring star
Tarise Bryson to give the Bulldogs an 81-78 win over the Redbirds Sunday at Redbird Arena.
McDonald, who set a Drake freshman scoring record with 31 points, played all 40 minutes for the short-handed Bulldogs, who have just eight players. He got scoring help from Andry Sola, who had 19 to go with nine rebounds to lead all players.
Bryson, now one of the nation's top 10 scorers at 22.4 points per game, answered with 30 points, but it wasn't enough.
Drake led by as many as nine in the second half before the Redbirds caught up. ISU took a 76-75 lead with 2:41 left on Jeppsons three-pointer. Justin Ohl answered with a pair of free throws 17 seconds later. Brysons two free throws with 1:20 left put ISU up 78-77, but McDonald was fouled shooting a three-pointer with 1:05 left and drained all three free throws to give the Dogs a two-point lead.
ISU, 18-6 overall, 10-5 in the Valley, had a chance to tie with nine seconds left, but Bryson missed a 10-foot bank shot. Sola was fouled on the rebound and made the second of two free throws to put Drake ahead 81-78 with 6 seconds left. Bryson had another shot to tie, but his 24-footer attempt was deflected by Aaron Thomas of Drake. ISU had an in-bound opportunity with 0.8 seconds left, but Dirk Williams three was short.
Drake, 11-13 overall, 7-8 in the Missouri Valley, won the game at the free thow line, hitting 24 of 31 to Illinois States 19 of 26. The Bulldogs also had a 31-26 rebounding edge. It was only Drakes fifth win in 25 games against the Redbirds in Normal.
Bryson got scoring help from
Shedrick Fords 18 and
Shawn Jeppsons 10, but the Birds couldnt get defensive stops when they needed them.
Illinois State coach
Tom Richardson thought his team didnt play enough defense to win.
Give Drake credit, they made plays to win the game, said Richardson. But we couldnt stop McDonald or Sola. We couldnt consisitently get stops or rebounds when we needed to.
The first half was close throughout, with nine lead changes and three ties. The Redbirds, who had trailed by as many as seven, had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but an offensive foul turned into a pair of free throws for Thomas with 4 seconds left to put Drake up 38-34.
DUs free throwing helped the Bulldogs earn a sweep of Illinois State. In two games, Drake hit 61 of 83 free throws against the Redbirds.
The Redbirds, in second place in the Valley and just a game behind first-place Creighton, play Wednesday at Bradley.
