ANCHORAGE, AK. - A controversial call marred an outstanding all-around
effort for Drake as the Bulldogs came up one point short of victory, dropping an
82-81 decision to Weber State at the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout
on Saturday (Nov. 27).
Leading by one, 81-80, sophomore Seth VanDeest (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) drew
a charge with 5.7 seconds remaining and jumped to the floor to show his
enthusiasm for a key stop to seemingly set Drake up for victory.
In the wake of the play, sophomore Aaron Hawley (Rogers, Ark./Rogers) was whistled
for a technical foul that was deemed for spiking of the ball sending Weber
State's Damian Lillard to the free throw line for two shots. Lillard connected on both shots to give
the Wildcats a lead they didn't relinquish.
The Bulldogs inbounded the ball and junior Kurt Alexander's
(Toronto, Ontario) jumper in the lane as time expired failed to fall as the
Wildcats escaped with an improbable victory.
Weber State, who is the two-time defending Big Sky regular
season champion and the pick to win the league this season, improved to 3-3
overall, while dropping Drake's slate to 2-3.
The game began on a much better note as showing no side effects of their previous outing, the Bulldogs began the first half on a 13-0 run
and parlayed a 65.4 percent shooting effort (17-for-26) into a 46-34 halftime
lead.
Eight different Drake players scored in the initial stanza
led by 11 points from freshman Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) and
nine points from Hawley.
The Bulldogs connected on eight first-half three pointers,
including two apiece from Rice and senior Ryan Wedel (Minneapolis,
Kan./Minneapolis). The Wildcats
shooting 52.2 percent from the floor, garnered 12 and 10 points, respectively,
off the bench in the first 20 minutes from Byron Fulton and Scott Bamforth.
Weber State began the second half on a 10-3 run to cut
Drake's lead to 49-44. A nifty
running one-hander off glass by junior Frank Wiseler (Luxembourg City,
Luxembourg/Urspringschule) and a one-handed dunk by Rice extended the margin
back to 53-44.
The lead swelled to 13, 65-52, before the Wildcats ran off a
7-0 skein to cut the deficit to 65-59 in favor of Drake.
Baskets from sophomore Reece Uhlenhopp (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) and
Rice pushed the advantage back to 69-60 before Weber State took its first lead
of the evening, 80-79, with 29.3 seconds remaining.
Rice gave the lead back to Drake with a jumper with 20
seconds left in regulation before the craziness ensued.
Rice led three Drake players scoring in double figures with
21 points, while Wedel and Hawley added 17 and 15 points, respectively. A
31-point effort from Lillard sparked the Wildcats.
The Bulldogs connected on 11-of-20 three-point attempts for
a 55.0 percent shooting mark, sparked by five triples from Wedel.
Drake won the rebounding battle, 28-25, while distributing
18 assists, led by six from Rice, who was named to the all-tournament team.
The Bulldogs finished the evening shooting 57.4 percent from
the floor, while Weber State tickled the twines at a .531 clip.
Drake returns to action on Wednesday (Dec. 1) with a 7:00
p.m. showdown at Colorado State as part of the Missouri Valley
Conference/Mountain West Shootout.
