DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake men's basketball team fell to in-state rival UNI, 82-66, Saturday afternoon at the Knapp Center in the final regular-season meeting between the two programs this season.
The Bulldogs (6-18, 1-11 MVC) were led by sophomore Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) with 18 points along with three rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Ore Arogundade (Chicago, Ill.), who made his seventh start of the season, finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Dominik Olejniczak (Torun, Poland), finished one point shy of a career high with 13 points and seven rebounds in his first career start while Graham Woodward (Edina, Minn.) provided seven assists alongside 10 points in the loss.
"Dominik has a bright future, he just needs time," said Drake head coach Ray Giacoletti. "Tonight, he played the most minutes he has ever played and I was pretty happy with his numbers."
Olejniczak's efforts under the basket helped Drake hold a five-rebound advantage and mark the fifth-straight opponent Drake has outrebounded.
The Panthers (14-11, 6-6 MVC) were led by Paul Jesperson's game-high 21 points, four rebounds and three assists. UNI shot 61.8 percent from the field and made 12-of-22 three-point attempts with Jesperson connecting on five of them.
"Teams can't come into your building and shoot 62 percent," Giacoletti said. "UNI is a hard team to defend when they're shooting it. We need to do a better job of pressuring the basketball which will give us more time to recover."
UNI took an early 8-point lead nine minutes into the game but Drake clawed back within two points, 25-23, with 7:04 left in the first half on an Olejniczak basket as part of an 8-2 run. However, Drake's offense went scoreless for the next 3:11 as UNI unleashed 10-straight points to take a 35-23 lead on back-to-back three-pointers. The Panthers outscored Drake, 16-5, over the final seven minutes of the half to take a 41-28 halftime lead.
UNI kept its lead at double-digits for much of the second half as shots continued to fall for the Panthers. Timmer scored 16 of his points in the second period but could not help the Bulldogs keep pace with UNI seven second-half three pointers.
The Bulldogs close out their two-game homestand Tuesday evening against now No. 21/22 Wichita State. Tipoff at the Knapp Center is set for 7 p.m. with the contest being broadcast on Mediacom MC22 and The Valley On ESPN3. The game, which is presented by Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield, is the Bulldogs' 'Blue Out' game with the first 1,000 students receiving a free blue t-shirt courtesy of Jethro's.
