DES MOINES, Iowa — The Drake University men’s basketball team blew open the game in the second half and rolled past Indiana State 74-58 at the Knapp Center on Monday night to reach 20 victories for a school-record fourth straight season.
“We came out a little flat,” head coach Darian DeVries said. “I thought we did a great job in the second half of challenging Indiana State on everything. Our defense led to turnovers, which led to transition baskets and we were able to get going from there.”
Roman Penn and D.J. Wilkins led the Bulldogs with 15 points each and Penn became the first Drake player to reach 400 career assists, handing out five to run his total to 403 as Drake won its third straight game after a three-game losing streak.
Freshman Tucker DeVries, the current MVC Newcomer of the Week, added 14 points to go with five rebounds and Garrett Sturtz turned in his usual solid game with 12 points and six rebounds. ShanQuan Hemphill contributed nine points and five rebounds off the bench, while Tremell Murphy lead the team with seven rebounds and blocked two shots.
Defense also was instrumental for the Bulldogs (20-9, 11-5 Missouri Valley Conference), who buckled down in the second half and closed the game with a 33-11 run over the final 14 ½ minutes to sweep the regular-season series with the Sycamores (11-17, 4-12).
Cameron Henry led Indiana State with 17 points and Kailex Stephens scored 16 but was limited to four in the second half.
Indiana State found openings on the perimeter at the outset, knocking down four early 3-pointers and going 8-for-15 from deep in taking a 36-32 halftime lead.
But the Bulldogs shut things down in the second half, holding the Sycamores to 25 percent shooting (6-for-24), including 2-for-9 from 3-point range.
While that was going on, the offense started clicking. Penn and Wilkins hit mid-range jumpers coming off screens, Hemphill and Sturtz got to the basket for layups and Darnell Brodie chipped in with six points, including a rim-shaking two-handed dunk on a feed from Penn. Wilkins finished 7-for-10 from the field with a 3-pointer. Penn also connected from long range and went 7-for-13 overall.
“I thought he really gave us a huge spark with his mid-range game,” DeVries said. “He did a great job facilitating, but also was aggressive when he had the opportunity to score.”
Drake pulled ahead briefly in the second half when DeVries converted a three-point play for a 39-38 lead. Indiana State quickly regained the lead and was up 45-41 when Julian Larry hit a 3-pointer at the 15:04 mark. But the Sycamores managed only one basket over the next 10 minutes and Drake took control.
Wilkins hit three jumpers in a 10-2 run that made it 51-47. After an Indiana State bucket, the Bulldogs rattled off 10 straight points capped by a Wilkins steal and layup. It was 64-49 and the Bulldogs weren’t finished yet.
“What people don’t talk about enough is D.J.’s defense,” DeVries said. “Defensively, I thought he had a great pace and rhythm tonight. He had a tremendous all-around game.”
Brodie’s dunk made it 68-52, Sturtz went up and under for a layup for a 72-56 lead and Penn followed with a lob to Hemphill for a slam that gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead, 74-56.
Drake shot 54.3 percent in the second half to finish a respectable 47.1 percent for the game. The Bulldogs committed just seven turnovers and came up with seven steals, the 12th time in the last 13 game they’ve had at least seven.
The Bulldogs are in the midst of a busy stretch of four games in eight games. They’ll be back in action on Wednesday night at Valparaiso.
