ST. LOUIS – No. 7 seed Illinois State mounted a comeback in the second half of Friday's Missouri Valley Conference quarterfinal, but ultimately fell 78-62 to the No. 2 seed Drake Bulldogs in the quarterfinals at the Enterprise Center.
How It Happened
Drake took a 24-9 lead at the under eight minute mark, thanks to a 15-2 run that included three makes from long range. The Bulldog lead grew to 18 points, before a Matt Chastain layup trimmed the deficit a bit at 29-13 with 4:05 to play in the first half. A jump hook in the lane by Rey Idowu with just under a minute to play made the score 34-17, but a three-pointer from the Bulldogs with 23 seconds remaining gave Drake a 37-17 lead at the break.
A 9-2 run started the second half, sparked by seven points from Phil Fayne, and trimmed the deficit to 39-26 after a converted three-point play three minutes in. A minute later, Keyshawn Evans connected on his first three-point field goal of the game and Fayne sent a blocked shot flying into the stands as the Redbirds headed into the second media timeout of the half with some momentum trailing 43-31. Josh Jefferson's first three-pointer of the contest with just over 12 minutes left in the contest then cut the lead back to 11 at 47-36 for the Redbirds. Drake extended the lead back out to as many as 16 points at 64-48, but a four-point play by Milik Yarbrough and a three-point play by Jefferson trimmed the Bulldogs' advantage to single digits at 64-55 with 5:05 left in the game. That would be as close as the Redbirds would get, as Drake closed out the game on a 9-2 run to secure the victory.
Key Moment
Drake quickly jumped to a 7-0 lead within the first two minutes of play, and the Redbirds were unable to close the gap for the remainder of the game.
Inside the Box Score
•   Fayne scored in double digits (18) for the ninth-straight game, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half.
•   Yarbrough recorded all 11 of his points in the second half.
•   Jefferson scored eight points off the bench, his most since also scoring eight points at Loyola on Jan. 12.
Stat of the Game
Illinois State held a 13-6 advantage on the offensive boards, resulting in a 12-6 margin in second-chance points.
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