ST. LOUIS, MO. - The accomplishments of the 2010-11 Drake men's basketball
team led by the grit and determination of senior
Ryan Wedel (Minneapolis, Kan./Minneapolis) are
memories that will live long past the disappointment of the Bulldogs' 63-48 State Farm
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday (March 3) at the Scottrade
Center.
The loss drew to a close Drake's campaign at 13-18 overall,
while the Braves extended their season at 12-19.
"It
was two back-to-back tough offensive games for us against Bradley," said
Bulldog head coach Mark Phelps. "In the first
half we didn't shoot the ball very well.
We made a re-emphasis at halftime to get the ball in the paint and I
thought we did a really good job to start the second half. Rayvonte (Rice) did a great job getting
in the paint, driving, finishing, and getting three-point plays."
Both sides struggled from the field in the game's initial 20
minutes as the Bulldogs connected on 28.6 percent of their shots, while Bradley
fared only slightly better at 34.4 percent.
The Braves entered the intermission leading Drake after
scoring 10 of the half's final 13 points to overcome a 19-17 Bulldog lead to
hold a 27-22 halftime advantage.
Redshirt junior Kraidon Woods (Henryville, Pa./Pocono Mountain
East) dominated the glass in the initial stanza matching a career high with
nine rebounds. He finished the
affair registering a career- and Drake season-best 13 rebounds.
Freshman Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) sparked the Bulldogs
out of the gate to begin the second half scoring eight points in a 10-4 Drake
run to assume a 35-31 lead.
The Bulldogs made five of their first six shots in the final
20 minutes.
Bradley continued to battle, as the Braves answered with a
13-0 run of its own, including a four-point play by Andrew Warren, to take a
lead it didn't relinquish.
Four straight points cut Drake's deficit to 44-39, but that
proved to be as close as the Bulldogs got.
Rice scored a team-high 13 points, while Wedel turned in an
11-point, six-rebound effort in his final collegiate game.
Rice established a new career mark in blocked shots (4), a
number that matched the top individual mark set by sophomore Seth VanDeest (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf)
against Southern Utah (Nov. 24).
Dyricus Simms-Edwards paced all scorers with a 26-point,
nine-rebound effort, while Warren contributed 15 points.
Drake finished the contest shooting 30.9 percent, while the
Braves made 39.1 percent of their attempts from the floor.
"It
was another tough, offensive night for us, which, we don't have a lot of
answers for that," Phelps stated.
"Guys who have been making shots all year long just came up short, and
at the end of the night that was certainly a big part of why we couldn't pull it off
and Bradley gets credit for their defensive efforts."
Bradley
outrebounded the Bulldogs, 44-38.
Turnover proved costly for Drake as 13 miscues turned in a
23-5 scoring advantage for the Braves.
Wedel capped his brilliant Bulldog career ranking eighth in
school history in three-pointers with 137 and netting 1,512 career points in
his career at Drake and Arkansas State.
"It
definitely wasn't the way I wanted to go out, but you have to give Bradley
credit," Wedel commented. "Looking
back on my career, I have no regrets. We didn't win as many games as I would
have hoped, but the program is building off the 2008 season, and we have a
bright future at Drake. I just
feel like I gave it everything I had, and I have no regrets as far as my
career."
