The Drake University men's basketball team hosts its second-straight clash of first-place teams at the Knapp Center when the Bulldogs welcome fellow Missouri Valley Conference leader Loyola to the Knapp Center Wednesday, Jan. 24. Tipoff between the two teams with matching 6-2 MVC records is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast locally on Mediacom MC22 and
The Valley on ESPN3.
The Bulldogs continue their homestand after defeating previous MVC leader Missouri State, 61-58, at the Knapp Center Saturday afternoon to remain undefeated at home this season. The Ramblers make their annual trip to Des Moines riding a five-game win streak with a 16-4 overall record.
Drake's resurgent season continued Saturday thanks to senior
Reed Timmer's (New Berlin, Wis.) game-high 24 points against Missouri State with 18 of them coming in the second half to rally the Bulldogs for the victory. The performance was his ninth 20-point game of the season and moved him even closer to becoming the program's all-time leading scorer as his 1,737 points moves him just 53 points away from becoming Drake's all-time scoring leader.
While Timmer's scoring pushed Drake ahead of Missouri State, it was
Nick McGlynn's three critical blocks to tie a career high that helped keep the Bears' offense from gaining traction in the final minutes. Additionally, the junior is averaging 13.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game to rank 13
th and fifth, respectively, in conference play. He is one of just six MVC players to average at least 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in conference action.
The Ramblers' efficient offense converts on 50.6 percent of its shots with four of its top five scorers all shooting 50 percent or better. Clayton Custer leads the way with 12.8 points per game while Aundre Jackson and Donte Ingram add 12.1 and 11.9 points, respectively. The Ramblers swept the weekly MVC awards this week with Ingram claiming Player of the Week honors while Cameron Krutwig was named the MVC Newcomer of the Week. The freshman center averaged 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in last week's wins.
Following Wednesday's contest, the Bulldogs head to Evansville to face the Purple Aces Saturday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. Earlier this season the Bulldogs defeated Evansville, 81-65, in Des Moines.
