DES MOINES, Iowa – The final two minutes of Saturday's game between the Drake University men's basketball team and Missouri State saw three lead changes and two ties before MSU ultimately ended up on top for a 76-73 win at the Knapp Center.
The Bulldogs' next-to-last shot with seven seconds remaining was blocked by MSU's Obediah Church to preserve the Bears' win. The block was Church's sixth of the game to go along with his seven points and nine rebounds. Missouri State (16-13, 7-9 MVC) also got a tremendous performance from Alize Johnson with 23 points and a staggering 21 rebounds to set a Knapp Center record for rebounds in a game.
"We had a lot of really good stretches of play on both ends," said Drake head coach Jeff Rutter. "The slow stretch in the second half allowed them life and allowed them back in the game. Then it was anybody's down the stretch and they made a play or two more than us."
Drake (7-21, 5-11 MVC) was led by 15 points each from Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) and Graham Woodward (Edina, Minn.). Timmer's 15 points gives him 1,314 career points to move into 10th all-time in career scoring at Drake. De'Antae McMurray (Alton, Ill.) added 13 points and a game-high seven assists on a night where the Bulldogs had 15 assists and a season-low four turnovers with nine steals. The Bulldogs were also 12-of-23 from the three-point arc.
"We came out with a lot of good energy and really shared the ball with 15 assists," Rutter added. "It was a tough battle on the boards and we tried to hold our own. I wouldn't trade shooting 12-of-23 from three-point any night of the week, but we just needed to make a few more plays down the stretch."
Drake jumped out to a 40-32 first lead a halftime behind 13 points from Woodward on 5-of-6 shooting including a three-pointer with 2:17 left that helped Drake end the half on a 7-0 run.
The Bulldogs maintained that lead for the first nine minutes of the second half until the Bears began to chip away at the lead. A three-pointer from Billy Wampler (Eau Claire, Wis.) with 3:41 left put Drake up four points, 68-64, but that would be the team's biggest lead over the final four minutes of the game. MSU's Jarrid Dixon, who finished with 14 points, drained a three-pointer with 1:29 left to fully erase the deficit and give MSU a 71-70 lead. MSU missed a pair of three-pointers with just under a minute remaining, but were fouled on the second rebound to send Dequon Miller to the line who made the first two of four-straight free-throws for the Bears to give them enough cushion to escape the Knapp Center with a season series split with the Bulldogs.
Drake returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 22, when it visits Loyola for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Gentile Arena.
