SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Senior Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) scored 20 points including a game-winning three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to rally the Drake University men's basketball team to a 67-63 win at Missouri State Sunday afternoon.
Drake (16-13, 10-6 MVC) needed a furious rally in the final 30 seconds to outscore MSU, 9-1 during that span, and earn the season sweep of the Bears after Missouri State rallied back in a game that Drake led for more than 33 minutes.
"It was a huge win for our guys and we did what had to do," said Drake head coach Niko Medved. "They made a run, we made a run right back and what a great finish at the end. We just made one more play than them, but what a pair of huge shots from our seniors. Reed did what he's done for us all year and I couldn't be more proud of them to continue to fight and scrap."
Casey Schlatter (Iowa Falls, Iowa) connected on a pair of free throws to pull the Bulldogs within two points and Graham Woodward (Edina, Minn.) followed with a huge three-pointer with 16 seconds left to give Drake a 63-61 lead. MSU tied the game briefly on a free throw before Timmer connected from well beyond the arc to put the Bulldogs ahead for good in the final two seconds. Timmer was fouled on the game-winning three-pointer and converted the free throw for the final 67-63 margin in Drake's third-ever and second-straight win in Springfield, Mo.
Missouri State was led by preseason Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Alize Johnson who had 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Drake held a double-digit lead for much of the second half until MSU went on an 18-3 run to take a lead late in the second half as Drake's shooting briefly went cold before the last-minute heroics from Woodward and Timmer. That MSU spurt came during a period in which six Bears were ejected from the game for leaving the bench, energizing the remaining bench and home crowd.
Timmer's scoring came on 6-of-12 shooting while Woodward added seven points. Schlatter had one of his best games of the season with eight points and a career-high 11 rebounds as Drake's bench contributed 27 points in the win.
The Bulldogs stay on the road for their next contest, a Wednesday evening meeting with Illinois State at Redbird Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on The Valley on ESPN3.
