SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Led by 27 points from Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) and a slew of clutch performances, the Drake University men's basketball team defeated Missouri State in overtime, 72-71, Wednesday evening at JQH Arena.
Timmer's 27 points came on 10-of-18 shooting with six rebounds and five assists. Nick McGlynn (Stoughton, Wis.) recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds while T.J. Thomas (Stone Mountain, Ga.) added a career-high 11 rebounds with eight points to help the Bulldogs improve to 5-4 in the MVC and 7-14 overall.
Missouri State (14-8, 5-4 MVC) got 17 points and 17 rebounds from Alize Johnson.
Drake jumped out to a 3-point lead in overtime off a McGlynn basket followed by a jumper from Graham Woodward (Edina, Minn.) before the Bears tied the game at 68-68 with 2:16 left. However, McGlynn answered with another basket followed by a drive from Timmer to give the Bulldogs a three-point lead with 16 seconds left. Strong defense, especially from Woodward and Ore Arogundade (Chicago, Ill.) thwarted the Bears' last second three-point attempts to preserve the Bulldogs' win.
Drake's road win was its first road win since Jan. 28, 2015 and its first win in Springfield since 2001.
Drake trailed by nine points with 13 minutes left in the second half but clawed away to pull within a point, 52-51, with 7:47 left on a Thomas jumper. The Bulldogs remained within striking distance until a jumper from Timmer tied the contest at 64-64 with 1:43 remaining. Drake's defense stepped up on the ensuing possessions with Woodward thwarting Dequon Miller's chance to win the game in regulation. The tandem of Woodward and Arogundade held Miller to 5-of-18 shooting and 1-of-6 from the three-point arc.
Missouri State threw the first punch of the back-and-forth contest in the opening half with a 9-0 spurt to break an 11-11 stalemate. That run was part of a larger 14-2 spurt to give the Bears a 25-13 lead with 7:47 left in the opening period. The Bulldog defense immediately put the clamps on the Bears, holding MSU without a field goal for the final 6:52 of the half and forcing 10-straight MSU misses from the field.
As the defense was holding court, the offense got into gear and shot 7-of-12 from the field in the final 7:16 of the half to take a 34-33 lead into halftime. That hot shooting keyed an 18-5 run to close the half with Timmer scoring eight points while Woodward added five.
The Bulldog return home, where they have won five-straight games, for their next contest Saturday, Jan. 28 against in-state rival, UNI. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. with the game being televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
