DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake sophomore guard Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) scored a game-high 20 points as the Drake University men's basketball team fell to the No. 25/24 Wichita State Shockers, 74-48, Tuesday night at the Knapp Center.
Timmer tallied his eighth 20-point game of the season with 11 free throws plus five rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Ore Arogundade (Chicago, Ill.), grabbed eight rebounds and had two steals in his eighth start of the season and played 33 minutes to lead the Bulldogs on the boards again. Dominik Olejniczak (Torun, Poland) added nine points, seven of them coming in the second half as the Bulldogs only trailed the Shockers in second-half scoring by three points, 30-27.
Drake (6-19, 1-12 MVC) was held scoreless from the field the first five minutes of the game with its only points coming off of three Timmer free throws. An offensive spark soon had Drake on the board and the Bulldogs held Wichita State (18-6, 12-1 MVC) to a single-digit lead for the first 12 minutes of the game. However, the Shockers' offense soon took control by going on a 20-2 run in the final nine minutes of the half to take a 44-21 lead at halftime.
"In the first ten minutes of each half, we executed offensively," Timmer said. "They [WSU] made their runs and we have to be able to be able to stop that."
The Shockers led by as many as 28 points in the second half, despite Drake's attempts to swing the momentum in their favor. But, Wichita State's defense held Drake to a scant 25 percent shooting on the game as the Shockers continually stymied the Bulldogs. Drake managed a 7-0 run mid-way through the second half and brought the game within 20 points, but would get not closer than 19 points for the remainder of the contest.
"What keeps us up in spirits in tough times is we know how good we can be and we have seen it in spurts," Timmer stated. "I think we are struggling to put it all into one game."
Wichita State shot 47.5 percent in the win with Shaquille Morris and Ron Baker each scoring 11 points. Baker and fellow guard Fred Van Vleet each added five assists as well.
"They [Wichita State] knocked some shots down early, but I thought our zone got better as the game went on." said Drake head coach Ray Giacoletti. "They are as good of a team as we will play against and that we will defend against."
The Bulldogs travel next to SIU Arena Saturday, Feb. 13, to face Southern Illinois at 3 p.m.
