By: Megan Leverenz - Drake Athletic Communications Student Assistant

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought, 64-56, loss to the visiting Illinois State Redbirds Tuesday evening in the pair's second meeting of the season.

Both teams got off to a slow start, each experiencing scoring droughts longer than three minutes early in the first half. The lead changed a total of nine times throughout the first 20 minutes and neither team led by more than four points.

Illinois State (12-7, 4-3 MVC) had the longest lead of the half,  spanning 4:51, until freshman Ore Arogundade (Chicago, Ill.) made a deep three-pointer to put Drake (4-15, 1-6 MVC) in the lead, 15-13, with eight minutes remaining in the half. Arogundade led Drake in scoring for the first half, putting in six points. Freshman Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) contributed five points, including the last points of the first half. Drake only trailed by two going into halftime, 29-27.

“Their defensive pressure was much greater the second half,” commented Drake head coach Ray Giacoletti. “They played some zone in some possessions that really – with short shot clocks – we did not do a great job of handling.”

Drake improved its shooting percentage from the floor from 33 percent in the first half to 38 in the second as well as its three-point percentage from 38 percent in the first half to 40. However, the Bulldogs suffered in the turnover category, giving Illinois State 16 points on 11 turnovers. Drake was also outrebounded, 36-30.

The Bulldogs trailed by seven early in the second half, 36-29. Quickly, redshirt senior Gary Ricks, Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif.) and freshman C.J Rivers (Cahokia, Ill.) each put in three points, closing the gap to 36-35. Rivers and Ricks led the Bulldogs in scoring, each finishing with 10 points for the game. Jacob Enevold Jensen (Lunderskov, Denamrk) followed with eight points and eight rebounds.

“Coach stresses to make the play for your teammate,” commented Rivers. “We try to do a good job of that, not only looking for our own shots and our own drives, but also drives leading to passes out to the perimeter for guys like Gary, Reed, and JD [Jordan Daniels].”

Midway through the second half, senior Chris Caird (Daventry, England) hit a basket from three-point range, triggering a shooting spree that followed with two points from Jordan Daniels (Fontana, Calif.) and a dunk from Enevold, closing the gap, 48-46, with nine minutes left in the game. During that span, Illinois State was 1-of-6 from the field.

The Redbirds then assembled a 7-0 run before Drake senior Trevor Berkeley (Tucker, Ga.) converted a layup with five minutes left in play to make the score 55-48.

Redshirt senior Karl Madison (Springfield, Ill.) made a steal that he converted into two points with just a minute remaining in the contest. Enevold put two more up, scoring the last points of the game for the Bulldogs. Caird tried for a last-second three-pointer, but couldn't get it to fall, as Illinois State prevailed, 64-56.

Senior Redbird Daishon Knight led Illinois State with 20 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Reggie Lynch finished second with 13 points and nine rebounds.

“The was a great road win against a team that's playing very well and who's getting a lot better,” commented Illinois State head coach Dan Muller on his team's win.

The Bulldogs next travel to Wichita State Jan. 25. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Koch Arena with the contest being broadcast on ESPN3.