ST. LOUIS, MO. -- Indiana State relied on torrid free throw shooting down the stretch, making 10 of 14 shots in the last 84 seconds to hold off Drake, 62-55, in the opening round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday night.

Trailing at one point, 44-23, Drake made a furious rally to pull within 52-51 with 1:32 left following a layup by senior forward Jonathan Cox (Barrington, Ill.).

Cox, playing in his school-record 128th career game, closed out the regular season with a season-high 27 points, including a career-best 10 baskets.

"I would give it up (scoring 27 points) in a second if we could have come out with a win," said Cox.

The Bulldogs dug themselves in a hole after suffering through an 8:39 scoring drought in the middle of the game, watching an 18-15 lead with 8:57 left in the
first half evaporate into a 37-20 deficit.

"Certainly we didn't play good basketball in the first half, really at either end," said Drake coach Mark Phelps, whose team fell to 17-15. "We came back and played a much better second half with great urgency, but it wasn't enough."

"Things snowballed on us in the first half and I give my team credit for fighting to cut it to one in the second (half), " said Drake senior forward Brent Heemskerk. "However we failed to make the plays we needed to make down the stretch."

Junior guard Craig Stanley (Plano, Texas) ended the dry spell with a layup off a steal with 18:02 left in the second half.  

Indiana State answered with a 7-1 run, keyed by five points from forward Jay Tunnell, to build the lead to 44-23 with 15:38 remaining.

But Cox led the Bulldogs on a 28-8 run in the next 14:06, scoring 18 points, including three three-point baskets, during the surge.

Senior reserve Alex White (Albuquerque, N.M.) contributed six points in the comeback.

After Josh Young (Lawton, Okla.) sank two free throws to cut the Indiana State lead to 52-47, the Bulldogs' Jacob Baryenbruch (Spring Green, Wis.) forced Tunnell into a turnover and was fouled with 2:09 left.

The senior reserve guard made both free throws to pull Drake within 52-49. Cox then hit a three-point basket from the top of the key to make it 52-51 with 1:32 remaining.

But Indiana State was able to convert free throws to close out the victory.

Cox and Heemskerk led Drake with eight rebounds.

Cox became the 46th player in MVC history to collect 800 career rebounds when he reached that plateau with his first rebound of the game.

The league's leading rebounder, Cox finished the game with 807 boards to rank second on the school career list.

Young and White each scored eight points.

Young moved into a tie with Ken Harris (1973-77) for eighth on the school career scoring list with 1,310 points. He also reached fourth on the Drake single-season chart list for free throws made at 162.

"I love my team to death, and especially the five seniors (Baryenbruch, Cox, Heemskerk, White, John Michael Hall) and everything they've added to the program," said Young.

"Cox played his heart out in this last game, and it's been a joy being able to play with him."

Drake shot 38 percent from the floor, including 42.9 percent in the second half.

Baryenbruch led Drake with four assists, while Stanley had a team-high two steals.

The setback snapped a three-game tournament winning streak by the Bulldogs as they claimed the 2008 title.