DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake University men's
basketball team fell, 71-64, to a blistering shooting performance from Northern
Iowa Saturday night at the Knapp Center in front of a season-high 6,711 fans.
UNI (16-11, 9-6 MVC) shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from
the three-point arc to pull away from Drake (11-15, 5-10 MVC) despite the
Bulldogs shooting 51. 9 percent from the field. However, a 33.3 percent night
from the arc and 18 turnovers kept Drake from being able to push past the
Panthers.
“The key to the game was the second-half spurt where they
knocked down consecutive three-pointers and we didn't keep pace with them,”
Drake head coach Mark Phelps said. “We have not been a team that has taken care
of the ball well enough and that obviously hurt us again. Against a good team
you can't have 18 turnovers.”
Senior Chris Hines (Houston, Texas) led the Bulldogs
with 18 points by going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Senior Jordan Clarke
(Rockville, Md.) recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season, while junior Seth VanDeest (Bettendorf,
Iowa) chipped in 10 points and four rebounds.
UNI senior Marc Sonnen scored 17 points and had five assists
for while Anthony James also scored 17 points, hitting 3-of-4 of his
three-point attempts.
The first half featured back-and-forth play, with neither
team allowing more than five straight points. As the period came to a close,
Panther sophomore Deon Mitchell hit a layup with under three seconds remaining,
and the Panthers took a 33-32 lead to the locker room.
Drake converted at a 60.9 percent clip (14-of-23) from the
field in the half, while UNI shot 54.2 percent (13-of-24).
Drake opened the second half with a 5-0 scoring run, capped
a Hines three-pointer, to take a 39-35 lead at the 16:01 mark. Another
three-pointer by Hines with 13:44 remaining broke a tie and gave the Bulldogs a
44-41 lead.
However, two three-pointers and an Anthony James layup
allowed UNI to turn a three-point deficit into a three point lead. Another
three-pointer by freshman Matt Bohannon put the Panthers up 52-46 with 8:05
remaining.
A pair of VanDeest free throws cut the Panther's lead to
four at 52-48 with 6:14 to go. But again, the Panthers answered with
three consecutive three-pointers by Chip Rank, James and Sonnen to put the
Panthers up 61-50 with 4:10 remaining.
“That was certainly a key stretch in the game and they were
on fire, they kept knocking down threes,” Phelps said. “You've to either get
stops or make shots to keep pace and that was the key to the game.”
Neither team would score for more than three minutes after
that with a Micah Mason (Natrona Heights, Pa.) three-pointer cutting the
UNI lead to six points with less than a minute to play. Drake continue to try
and rally but the Panthers converted on all eight free throws down the stretch
to hold on for the 71-64 win.
“It's always frustrating when you lose,” VanDeest said.
“We're staying together and working every day in practice. That's all you can
do is keep working. We're turning the ball over too much and giving up easy
baskets in transition because of it. It's the little things we've got to
change.”
The Bulldogs continue their three-game homestand against
Bradley on Wednesday night with tip-off set for 7:05 p.m. The game will be
broadcast regionally on Mediacom MC22.
