DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's basketball overcame a five-point deficit with 18 seconds left in regulation to defeat visiting SIU, 88-84, in overtime Wednesday night at the Knapp Center. The win was Drake's fifth-straight on its home court.
"I'm proud of our guys, it was a gutty, gritty effort," said Drake head coach Jeff Rutter. "We made enough plays in overtime to finish it. It was a great team win with so many huge, crunch-time plays from different guys."
After trading baskets to open the overtime period, the score was tied at 84-84 with 1:17 left following a three-pointer from Drake's Ore Arogundade (Chicago, Ill.).
"I knew we needed big plays down the stretch I was trying to be aggressive and be a scorer for our team," Arogundade said. "I felt we needed a quick one and fired that one in."
SIU's ensuing possession ended on a critical blocked shot by Jacob Enevold (Lunderskov, Denmark) that was followed by a tip-in off Enevold's own missed dunk to give the Bulldogs an 86-84 lead with 33 seconds left. Drake forced a Southern Illinois turnover on the next possession and De'Antae McMurray (Alton, Ill.) hit two crucial free throws to seal the win for Drake (6-13, 4-3 MVC).
Southern Illinois (11-9, 4-3 MVC) overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to take a five-point lead with 18 seconds left. Drake's Arogundade knocked in another clutch shot with a three-pointer pointer to bring Drake within two points, 76-74. With 11 seconds left, Graham Woodward (Edina, Minn.) intercepted an SIU inbound pass under the Bulldogs' goal and Arogundade corralled the following missed shot before he was promptly fouled. Following a lengthy delay for an officials' review, Arogundade stepped to the line with less than six seconds remaining and converted on both free throws to force overtime after SIU's final possession was thwarted.
"I kept telling myself 'you're going to knock these in, this is what you live for,'" Arogundade said. "I'm not going to lie, I was nervous, but I stepped up and knocked them down."
Arogundade scored 17 of his career-high 19 points in the second half including eight critical points in the final 5:12 of action. The junior was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and has now scored double-digits in six of the last seven games, including at least 15 points in four-straight games. Joining Arogundade in double digits was junior Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) and McMurray with 20 and 18 points, respectively. As a team the Bulldogs shot 26-of-58 including 12-of-27 from beyond the arc.
"We're getting better as a basketball team and each guy is continuing to grow, making plays and making winning plays when it matters most," Rutter said.
SIU, which had won four of its previous five games, was led by Mike Rodriguez's 24 points while Armon Fletcher added 18 points and seven rebounds.
The Bulldogs will look to earn their first road victory of the season as they travel to face Illinois State, the Missouri Valley Conference leaders, on Jan. 21. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on MVC TV and ESPN Des Moines 1350-AM.
