DES MOINES, IOWA -- Junior guard Ryan Wedel (Minneapolis, Kan.) had 17 points, including six free throws in the final 48 seconds, as Drake snapped a four-game losing streak with a 79-72 Missouri Valley Conference victory past Southern Illinois Tuesday night.

There were eight ties and nine lead changes in the game where the winner remained in position to make a late charge in the MVC standings to avoid the opening round game of the State Farm MVC Tournament.

The Bulldogs improved to 12-16, including a 7-9 league record - just one game out of sixth place.

Southern Illinois, which suffered its fourth straight road loss, fell to 14-12, including a 6-10 MVC mark.

Four players scored in double figures for Drake which swept the season series against Southern Illinois for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign.

But it was the return of senior point guard Craig Stanley (Plano, Texas) that keyed the Bulldog victory.

Stanley, who had missed the past nine games after undergoing surgery on his wrist, scored nine points - all in the second half - as the Bulldogs earned their first victory in 11 outings when trailing at halftime this season.

"It was great to have Stanley back," said Drake head coach Mark Phelps. "He ended up being a huge part of what we did tonight.

“Our guys persevered,” Phelps said. “It certainly wasn't a pretty game."

Stanley scored nine points in the last 11 minutes 23 seconds of the game while grabbing three rebounds.

He penetrated the paint for two layups in a 34-second span midway through the second half.

Josh Young's (Lawton, Okla.)  lone three-point basket of the game - from the top of the key - turned a 60-59 deficit into a 62-60 lead with 4:29 left that Drake never relinquished.

Then Stanley grabbed a rebound off a Southern Illinois missed shot and threw a pass to Wedel who drilled a three-point basket extending the Bulldog lead to 65-60 with 3:36 left.

After a layup by center Seth VanDeest (Bettendorf, Iowa)  gave Drake a 67-62 advantage, the Bulldogs would not score another basket relying on torrid free throw shooting in the final 1:44 when it made 12 of 14 free throws to close out the game.

The game featured a matchup between two of the MVC's most promising freshman post players in VanDeest and Gene Teague from Southern Illinois.

Teague scored a career-high 18 points, while enjoying his second double-double with 11 rebounds.

VanDeest scored 14 points, including eight in the second half.

Drake finished the game making a season-high 31 of 41 free throws.

Young finished with 13 points, while collecting a season-high eight rebounds along with three assists.

"Josh Young was terrific,” added Phelps. “He didn't shoot the ball particularly well, but he led our team in rebounds (eight), he made eight free throws, and he didn't turn the ball over in 37 minutes.”

Senior forward Adam Templeton (Rapid City, S.D.) added 11 points, while tying a career high with two blocked shots for the Bulldogs.

Senior guard Tony Freeman scored 18 points for the Salukis. He had 14 points in the first half, including four of six shooting beyond the three-point arc. But he missed his only two three-point attempts in the second half.

Southern Illinois committed 16 turnovers with Drake capitalizing by scoring 15 points off those miscues.