VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Drake University men’s basketball team led by four of its student-athletes from The Region fended off Valparaiso, 71-65 in its final road game of the regular season inside ARC on Wednesday night.
“It was a 40 minute grinder for us,” head coach Darian Devries said. If you go 1-for-10 from beyond the arc on the road and are able to pull out a win, it means you did a lot of other good things right.”
Both teams got off to a slow offensive start. The Bulldogs (21-9, 12-5 in Missouri Valley Conference) took advantage of a Valpo (13-16, 6-11) turnover with 12:43 left in the opening half when D.J. Wilkins buried a trey from the wing for an 11-9 advantage.
Six minutes later, the Beacons led by half a dozen (25-19) after Kevion Taylor connected from long distance. Drake immediately responded with an 8-0 run capped off by a turnaround jumper from Tucker DeVries with 2:20 remaining in the first half. DeVries closed the first frame with a similar shot to put Drake ahead, 31-29 at halftime.
The score was tied, 36-36 nearly five minutes into the second half before Drake ventured another 8-0 run for a 44-36 lead at the 12:11 mark when Darnell Brodie muscled his way inside.
Roman Penn sped down the court for a transition layup and 54-47 lead with 5:29 remaining in the second half. Kevion Taylor and Sheldon Edwards sank back-to-back 3-pointers as the Beacons clawed their way back within a single point at 56-55 with 4:22 left in regulation.
Wilkins and Penn kicked it into another gear to help Drake close out the road victory. The duo scored Drake’s final four field goals of the game as the visitors held off Valparaiso.
“We were able to make shots late and got stops,” Wilkins said. “We love playing for each other. We feel confident playing on the road. We are looking forward to our final home game and playing in the Knapp Center on Saturday.”
The Bulldogs enter the final leg of a busy stretch of four games in eight games. They’ll be back in action inside the Knapp Center on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. against Southern Illinois for Senior Day and the Suit Up Against Pediatric Cancer Game.
