LYNCHBURG, Va. – Behind 28 points from senior Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.), the Drake University men's basketball team nearly erased a 17-point deficit in an 86-81 loss to Colorado, Saturday evening in the semifinals of the Paradise Jam.

Sixteen of Timmer's 28 points came at the free-throw line while De'Antae McMurray (Alton, Ill.) added 19 points with six steals. Nick McGlynn (Stoughton, Wis.) tacked on a double-double with a career-high 15 points and 10 boards.

"He's playing with a ton of confidence," Drake head coach Niko Medved said of Timmer's performance. "He's aggressive, playing strong and under control. De'Tae [McMurray] was a lot more aggressive and we got Nick [McGlynn] involved. But for us to be good, we have to be much better on the defensive end than we were tonight."

Undefeated Colorado was led by 21 points and nine assists from McKinley Wright as Drake's defense was unable to slow down an offense that converted at a 56.4 percent clip.

Drake faced an eight-point halftime deficit that stretched to 17 points, 52-35, in the first four minutes of the half as the Buffaloes reeled off a 13-4 run. However, the Bulldogs charged back with a 23-7 spurt over the next eight minutes to pull within a point, 59-58, with 7:54 remaining in the contest off a pair of Timmer free throws.

"We dug ourselves such a hole and for whatever reason came out a little flat," Medved said. "Finally we dug in, but we were no where near where we needed to be defensively. But we battled back and that shows you the character of the team."

The Bulldogs remained within two possessions until a Wright three-pointer extended Colorado's lead to 10 points, 77-67, with 3:13 left. The Bulldogs continued to cling to a narrow deficit but could not mount another rally in suffering their first loss of the season.

With the loss, the Bulldogs move into the Paradise Jam's third-place game against Drexel Saturday evening. Tipoff with the Dragons is set for 5 p.m. CST.