DES MOINES, IOWA -- Senior Josh Young (Lawton, Okla.), junior Ryan Wedel  (Minneapolis, Kan.) and freshman Seth VanDeest  (Bettendorf, Iowa) each scored a game-high 20 points as the Drake men's basketball team held off Creighton, 79-74, to earn its fourth straight Missouri Valley Conference home victory Saturday night before a season-high crowd of 7,018 fans at the Drake Knapp Center.

The trio combined to scored 35 of Drake's 36 second-half points.  The Bulldogs remained in a three-way tie for third place in the MVC with a 6-5 mark, while improving to 11-12 overall.

"We fed off the crowd in a big way tonight," said Drake head coach Mark Phelps. "We got enough stops and hit enough free throws to get the win."

Guard Cavel Witter came off the bench to lead Creighton with 17 points, while junior forward Casey Harriman tossed in a season-high 14 points.

Creighton, which had a two-game winning streak snapped, fell to 11-11 overall, including a 6-5 league mark.

After Creighton's Josh Jones drained a three-point basket to tie the game at 58-58 with 8:53 left, Young, Wedel and VanDeest combined to score 20 of Drake's last 21 points.

A three-point basket by Wedel ignited a 7-0 run that included jumpers from Young and VanDeest. Drake never relinquished the 65-58 lead.

Creighton cut the margin to four points twice with the first coming at 70-66. But Wedel scored six of Drake's next eight points -- all coming from the free throw line.

Owning a 79-74 edge following a free throw by Adam Templeton (Rapid City, S.D.), Creighton turned the ball on its last two possessions with Young putting the game away with a steal with 10 seconds left.

The 6-foot 10-inch VanDeest tied a career high with four blocked shots for third time this season with previous highs being on the road at Wichita State and Evansville.

He limited center Kenny Lawson Jr., Creighton's leading scorer, to seven points in 18 minutes. Meanwhile, VanDeest made six of nine shots from the floor, while making all eight free throw attempts.

"I thought he (Seth) was absolutely tremendous, he's starting to really establish himself as one of the best post players in our league,” added Phelps.   
   
Drake raced to a 15-5 lead in the game's opening three minutes, keyed by three consecutive three-point baskets from Wedel, who had scored eight points in the previous meeting in Omaha Jan. 6.

A three-point basket by sophomore guard Frank Wiseler (Luxembourg City, Luxembourg)  propelled Drake to its biggest lead of the game at 35-20 with 6:41 left in the first half. It marked the fourth straight home game in which the Bulldogs enjoyed a double-digit lead in the first half.

Wiseler dished out seven assists. Templeton grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, while collecting two steals. Young added five boards and two steals.

Drake scored 15 points off Creighton turnovers.

Drake shot 50 percent from the floor, marking the third time in the last four home games the Bulldogs have shot 50 percent or better in a game (Missouri State: 60%, Wichita State 55%). The Bulldogs made 12 of 24 shots in each half.

The Bulldogs owned a 43-35 halftime lead with the 43 points the most scored by a Creighton opponent in the first half this season.

Drake will travel to Bradley Tuesday followed by a road match at Illinois State next Saturday.

DRAKE NOTES:  It marked the first time Drake had three 20-point scorers in same game  since Dec. 11, 2002 when Drake beat Grinnell, 162-110. J.J. Sola had 36 points followed by 25 apiece from Greg Danielson and Quantel Murphy...Young enjoyed his 18th career 20-plus scoring game, including his third of the 2009-10 campaign...It marked the third career 20-plus scoring game for Wedel and second for VanDeest...VanDeest and Wedel had combined for 16 points in previous Drake game at Creighton, collecting eight points apiece.
...VanDeest is shooting 66.7 percent in his last two home games, going six-for-nine from the floor in games against Wichita State and Creighton...Young has led Drake in scoring in the last five straight games...Young has scored 1,624 points  - just two shy of moving into a  tie with Willie McCarter (1966-69) for third place on the school career scoring list...Young has gone to the free throw line 35 times in the last four games...Young also became just the third Drake player in school history to make 400 free throws in career. He has 400.