A slow start to the second half was too much for the Drake University men's basketball team to overcome in the final minutes of a 63-61 loss to Bradley in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Friday afternoon at the Scottrade Center.
 
Drake's Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) scored 18 points in his final MVC Tournament game while Nick McGlynn (Stoughton, Wis.) nearly had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Graham Woodward (Edina, Minn.) added nine points as Drake's seniors scored a combined 47 points in the loss.
 
"These guys have given so much here this year, and there's nothing that I'm going to say to them or anyone that's going to make us or them feel better," said Drake head coach Niko Medved. "Obviously, we're crushed. But I think when the sun comes up and time goes by, these guys will be really proud about what they accomplished this year."
 
Bradley's (20-12, 9-9 MVC) Darrell Brown led all scorers with 24 points in the win, 17 of them in the second half to propel the Braves into Saturday's semifinal against No. 1 seed Loyola. Donte Thomas added a double-double with 13 points, including the game-winner with 1.8 seconds left, and 14 rebounds.
 
Thomas' efforts helped Bradley hold an 11-rebound advantage over the Bulldogs with 14 offensive boards.
 
"We just left a few things on the table execution-wise, and clearly we struggled to keep them off the glass in the second half," Medved said.
 
Drake (16-16, 10-8 MVC) shot 39.6 percent in the loss and 29.2 percent in the second half to prevent the Bulldogs from pulling away from the Braves after erasing a six-point second half deficit.
 
The Braves opened the second half on a 14-3 run in the first five minutes to take a 41-38 lead that was quickly extended to as many as six points. A Woodward three-pointer with 10:15 left pulled Drake within one and a three-point play from Timmer 40 seconds later tied the contest at 50-50.
 
"They made a couple of  shots early, and we didn't," Medved said. "That was obviously a key stretch in the game. Those first three or four minutes in the second half were key."
 
Neither team led by more than a possession for the remainder of the contest. However, Drake encountered another untimely offensive lull, scoring just two points in the final 5:51 as Bradley closed the game with seven straight points and Thomas' game-winning lay in.  
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead as Timmer and De'Antae McMurray (Alton, Ill.) scored 10 of the team's first 15 points to give Drake an early 15-7 lead off three three-pointers. However, the Bulldogs' offense went cold, making just one of its next eight shots to allow Bradley to rattle off an 8-0 run and an 18-17 lead.
 
The Bulldogs answered by outscoring Bradley 14-4 and scoring on seven of their last eight possessions. Freshman Noah Thomas (Sydney, Australia) keyed that charge by connecting on a pair of three-pointers to help push Drake to a 35-27 halftime lead. The Bulldogs connected on 6-of-13 attempts from the arc in the first half. The team finished the game with nine three-pointers.