CARBONDALE, Ill. – Garrett Sturtz provided multiple gritty plays including a pair of free throws in the contest’s final moments as the Drake University men’s basketball team won its third consecutive game, 60-59 at the Banterra Center over Southern Illinois on Monday night.
“We didn’t expect anything less, Sturtz said. “We knew Southern Illinois would come out firing in the second half. It just went our way today. This was a huge win. We had struggled on the road this year but we kept our composure tonight. It was an all-around team effort.”
The Bulldogs (13-5, 4-1 in Missouri Valley Conference) grabbed their first lead (17-16) of the contest at the 10:36 mark of the first half when Ayo Akinwole drilled a 15-foot jump shot in the lane. On the next Drake possession, Akinwole dished it to Tremell Murphy who made the basket while being fouled and converted the free throw for an old fashioned 3-point play leading 20-16.
Roman Penn connected on back-to-back shots to put the visitors up by double figures (26-16) and cap off a 14-0 run with 7:36 remaining in the opening half.
Tucker DeVries sent a great pass to Murphy for a slam with 2:26 to play before halftime as the Bulldogs controlled their largest lead at 33-21. Only 1:10 later, the Salukis (9-8, 2-3) cut the deficit in half after Trent Brown drilled a trifecta. DeVries added a bucket before half as Drake led 35-27 at the break.
Southern Illinois outscored Drake by a 14-0 margin for the first 7:26 of the second half. Garrett Sturtz converted a free throw at the 12:34 mark of the second stanza to end the run and he drilled a right wing triple on the following possession to bring the game back within one possession (41-39).
Drake later pulled ahead, and it was a battle until the final whistle. DeVries drained a 35-foot trey with 3:49 remaining for a 58-55 Bulldog advantage. The Salukis clawed ahead on a basket in the lane by Marcus Domask with only 38 seconds left for a 59-58 score. Domask led Southern Illinois in scoring with 15 points.
Sturtz drew a foul under the basket with 23 seconds remaining and nailed his pair of free throws to put Drake back in front by a score of 60-59.
“Our guys made winning plays down the stretch,” head coach Darian DeVries said. “Sturtz (Garrett) made so many big-time plays- whether it was big shots, rebounds, getting loose balls or making clutch free throws. Our older guys dug in and gave us a chance.”
Drake hunkered down defensively as SIU failed to get a final shot off in time.
“You go into that last possession (SIU) knowing where the ball was going to their best player- Domask (Marcus),” DeVries said. “Let’s get beat on something from the perimeter not by their best player. So our guys dug in defensively and thankfully they weren’t able to get a shot off.”
The Bulldogs have a quick turnaround as they are scheduled to play host to Bradley on Wednesday (Jan. 19) at 7 p.m. for Des Moines’ Hometown Team Week.
