DES MOINES, Iowa – Illinois State used 8-0 runs to start both the first and second halves, and erased a 15-point second-half deficit to force overtime; however, the undefeated Drake Bulldogs were able to claim a narrow 78-76 MVC win on Sunday afternoon in front of 947 fans at the Knapp Center.
Antonio Reeves scored a game- and career-high 27 points, bettering his previous top mark by six, while DJ Horne scored 14. Dusan Mahorcic scored nine while Howard Fleming Jr. added seven. Horne pulled down a team-best seven rebounds, with Mahorcic, Reeves, and Emon Washington – who was making his first collegiate start – each grabbed six. Horne and Fleming Jr. each led the team with four assists in the contest.
The Redbirds made 54 percent of their shots in the second half, and 44.1 percent (26-of-59) for the game, 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from long-range, and three quarters of their 20 free throw tries. Drake, who came into the game ranked third in the country in field goal percentage, converted on 43.4 percent of their shots, and 13.3 percent from long range after coming into the contest ranked fourth in the NCAA in the category.
The Redbirds got out to a quick start in the game, scoring the first eight points of the contest on a lay-in by Mahorcic, a three from Horne, and a three-point play from Mahorcic. The Illinois State advantage ballooned to as many as 11 at 16-5 with 13:55 to play after Horne's second three-pointer of the contest. Drake chipped away at the deficit, and eventually took its first lead with 6:33 to play in the opening half. The lead changed hands five times over the next two minutes, before the hosts stretched their lead to as many as eight with 21 seconds to play, before a pair of Reeves free throws sent the Redbirds into the locker room trailing 38-32.
Illinois State scored the first eight points of the second half to lead 40-38; however, Drake responded with a 17-0 run to stretch the lead to 15 at 55-40. The Redbirds responded back with a 10-0 run of their own to quickly close the gap to five at 55-50. ISU kept chipping away at the deficit, largely behind a four-and-a-half-minute stretch of the game where Reeves scored 14 consecutive Illinois State points, trimming a nine-point deficit to one with 1:46 to play in regulation. After a pair of empty possessions, Mahorcic stepped to the free throw line with the Redbirds trailing by one, and made a free throw to knot the score at 71. Drake had two shot attempts in the final five seconds of the game, but both came up empty, and sending the game into an extra session – the first overtime game of the season for ISU.
In overtime Fleming hit a lay-in to open the scoring; however, Drake scored seven of the next eight points to lead by four with 1:29 to play. Fleming scored once again with a tip-in with 16 seconds left, while the Bulldogs missed the front end of their one-and-one attempt. The Redbirds got a driving lay-up attempt at the buzzer to tie the score, but it rolled off the rim, securing Drake's undefeated record.
Drake, now 16-0 on the season, was led by Darnell Brodie who scored 20 points with 10 rebounds before fouling out of the game. Tremell Murphy scored 13 points for Drake, while D.J. Wilkins scored 11 and Roman Penn 10 to go with nine assists.
The two squads return to the Knapp Center on Monday at 6 p.m. for the second of two games in the MVC series.
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