CARBONDALE,  ILL. -- Ryan Wedel's  22 foot jumper from the left wing with 37.2 seconds left proved to be the difference as Drake snapped a six-game losing streak with a 70-65 come-from behind victory at Southern Illinois Saturday night.

After a three-point basket at the top of the key by Kevin Dillard gave the Salukis a 65-62 lead with 1:19 left, Drake scored the game's last eight points to earn its first Missouri Valley Conference victory.

"We executed down the stretch perfectly at both ends of the court," said second-year Drake head coach Mark Phelps.

It marked the first time Drake has ever won back-to-back games in Carbondale in the series between the schools that dates back to 1976.

"I give our guys a lot of credit for hanging in there in a real tough situation," said Phelps. "I'm really proud of our players' effort to overcome adversity and get the win.

"Certainly our guys were extremely excited because they have been doing the right things and this was confirmation that they are on the right path."

Drake senior forward Adam Templeton scored a career-high 22 points, including 14 in the second half.

But it was the rebounding effort of Templeton, who snared 13 boards, that drew the praise of Phelps.

Templeton had six offensive rebounds.

The Bulldogs outrebounded Southern Illinois, 18-9, in the second half, scoring 10 second-chance points.

"I haven't been crashing the boards in the last couple games, so I was focused tonight," said Templeton. "The ball bounced my way."

After freshman center Seth VanDeest sank the first of two free throws to pull Drake to within 65-63 with 59 seconds left, Templeton grabbed the second missed shot setting up Wedel's heroics.

Phelps called a time out, diagramming the game winning shot in which Wedel took a pass from sophomore guard Frank Wiseler to give Drake a 66-65 lead.

"Coach drew up a play to come off a double stagger for either me or Josh (Young)," said Wedel. "We set good screens and executed the play."

Tony Freeman missed a three-point shot on Southern Illinois' ensuing possession.

Justin Bocot grabbed the rebound but called a time out when the Salukis didn't have any left, resulting in a technical foul.

Wedel made both free throws on the technical foul with 17.1 seconds left to push Drake's advantage to 68-65.

Templeton then sealed the victory by hitting two free throws with three seconds left after he was fouled on a defensive rebound.

Wedel, held scoreless in the first half, finished with 14 points, making all six free throw attempts.

"I thought when I got to free throw line it boosted my confidence," said Wedel.

Senior guard Josh Young added 11 points for Drake  Wiseler came off the bench to add eight points and three assists.

During a 4 minute 15-second stretch ending the first half and opening the second half, Templeton scored nine of Drake's 11 points.

"Our guards did a heckuva job finding me in transition," said Templeton.

Despite shooting 40.7 percent from the floor, Drake managed to hold serve in the first half being deadlocked in a 27-27 tie.

The lead changed hands five times in the first half.

Drake reeled off nine straight points to grab a 12-5 lead.  The Bulldogs made four straight shots during the spree, while relying on steals from Craig Stanley and Ben Simons to set up two baskets.

Templeton scored Drake's last five points of the first half, including a three-point basket with 1:12 left.

Drake, which improved to 6-11, will open a two-game homestand playing host to Missouri State Tuesday and Illinois State Jan. 17.