CARBONDALE, ILL. -- Junior guard
Craig Stanley (Plano, Texas) broke out of a shooting slump by scoring a career-high 17 points as the Drake men's basketball team earned its first victory at Southern Illinois since 1996 with a 67-60 Missouri Valley Conference decision Sunday night.
Stanley had scored a combined 16 points in his previous four games, including just three points in MVC play against Evansville and Missouri State.
Drake senior forward Jonathan Cox (Barrington, Ill.) enjoyed his 16th career double-double and fourth this season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bulldogs overcame 23.5 percent shooting from the floor in the second half, by making 21 of 25 free throws in the final period.
Two free throws by sophomore reserve guard Josh Parker (Harvey, Ill.) with 6:09 left gave Drake a 55-54 lead it never relinquished.
Stanley then made just his third three-point basket of the season from the left wing with 5:08 left pushing Drake's lead to 58-54.
That would be Drake's last basket of the game, but the Bulldogs made nine of 10 free throws down the stretch.
Junior guard Josh Young (Lawton, Okla.) finished with 14 points, while collecting a career-high seven rebounds.
Parker scored 12 points off the bench.
Junior forward Adam Templeton (Rapid City, S.D.) added eight points and nine rebounds, tying a career high with six offensive boards.
Drake improved to 11-4, including a 2-1 league mark.
A three-point basket by Young with 5:03 left in the first half, gave Drake its biggest lead of the game at 33-21.
Young moved up into a tie for No. 14 on the school career scoring list with Greg Danielson (1999-2003) at 1,085 points.
He also moved into No. 2 on the Drake career three-point basket list at 179, surpassing Armand LeVasuer (1996-2000) who had 178.
Trailing 9-8, Drake went on a 9-2 run to grab a 17-9 lead. Drake enjoyed a 36-31 halftime lead, marking the first time this season the Bulldogs had led in the first period in five road games.
Drake will open a two-game homestand, starting Wednesday against Indiana State followed by a nationally televised ESPNU game on Sunday against Wichita State.
