EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Drake University men's
basketball team dropped an 84-78 overtime decision at Evansville Sunday night
in a back-and-forth contest that featured 16 lead changes. Ben
Simons (Cadillac, Mich.) led the Bulldogs with 27 points on 9-of-12
shooting and a 5-of-7 night from the three-point arc.
Senior Jordan Clarke (Rockville, Md.) added
another solid game for the Bulldogs with his second straight double-double via
10 points and 14 rebounds. Junior Richard Carter (Detroit,
Mich.) recorded 13 points and seven assists.
The Aces were paced by Colt Ryan's 33 points on a night that
saw the all-MVC performer record his 2,000th career point while Ned Cox added
21 points.
“This was a typical Valley game,” Drake head coach Mark
Phelps said. “We had a chance to close it out and were not able to get the
defensive rebound on a couple of occasions. Colt Ryan is a great player and
they went to the free throw line the entire overtime.”
With four minutes left in regulation, Drake (11-13, 5-8 MVC)
built up a three-point lead on a Simons three-pointer and held that lead via a
pair of Simons free throws with 1:21 left. Drake got a stop on Evansville's
(14-11, 7-6 MVC) next possession but could not convert a free throw on offense
to seal the win. The Aces grabbed the rebound an Ryan stepped up to drain a
three-pointer to tie the game at 66-66 with 18 seconds left.
The Bulldogs elected not to call a timeout to afford
Evansville the chance to set its defense and Carter's ensuing drive to the rim
was off its mark to force overtime.
“We had one last shot we felt it would be better to go
against their defense if it was not set,” Phelps said. “We went with a play
that had been working for us. We got a shot on the rim by Richard Carter, but
it just didn't go in.”
Free throws proved to be the difference in the extra period
as Evansville made just one shot from the field but was 16-of-18 from the line
to maintain its perfect home record in MVC play. Ryan alone was 14-of-15 from
the charity stripe on the evening. Overtime three-pointers from Joey King (Eagan,
Minn.) and Gary Ricks, Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif.) briefly tied the game
on two occasions, but Aces converted at the free-throw line to keep the
Bulldogs at bay.
Drake held a 9-point halftime advantage but a 12-2
Evansville run to start the second period gave the Aces the lead with 15:16
left in regulation. From there, neither team would lead by more than two
possessions for the remainder of the period. The Bulldogs shot a stout 50
percent from the field but turnovers continued to hamper Drake's offense as 19
turnovers led to 25 Evansville points.
“The turnover bug got us again with 19 in the game,” Phelps
said. “When we didn't turn it over, we got good shots and we got the ball where
we could score.”
Drake's inside game allowed it to jump out to a 35-26
halftime lead as Clarke finished the opening half with nine rebounds and six
points while Seth VanDeest (Bettendorf, Iowa) added six of his own. The
Bulldogs held a 32-18 advantage in points in the paint for the game. That early
presence in the paint allowed the Bulldogs' marksmen to take aim. Simons
finished the half with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting including three
three-pointers.
The defense also keyed that first-half lead by limiting
Evansville to just 28.1 percent shooting (9-of-32) and holding Ryan and Cox to
just 10 combined points.
Drake returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at Wichita
State for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The Bulldogs return to the Knapp Center on Saturday,
Feb. 16 to host Northern Iowa.
