VALPARAISO, Ind. – Merrillville, Ind., native D.J. Wilkins scored a career-high 20 points in front of friends and family to lead the Drake University men's basketball team to a 70-59 road win at Valparaiso Saturday, Jan. 26, evening.
 
Wilkins' career night came on 7-of-12 shooting and a 4-of-8 night from the three-point arc to improve Drake to 16-5 overall and 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Fellow Northwestern Indiana natives Anthony and Tremell Murphy (Griffith, Ind.) had 12 points and 11 points, respectively before a strong Drake following at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Anthony Murphy also added a career-high five assists.
 
"It was a game that wasn't the cleanest, but I'm proud of our effort and the way they competed," said Drake head coach Darian DeVries. "We made just enough plays down the stretch to get that separation."
 
Drake's defense held Valparaiso (12-9, 5-3 MVC) to 37.9 percent shooting and just 12.5 percent from the three-point arc. Jaume Sorolla and Daniel Sackey led a Valpo roster depleted by injury with 13 points each. 
 
In a back-and-forth contest, the Bulldogs outscored Valpo, 12-5 in the final four minutes to pick up the program's fourth-straight double-digit victory and second-straight win on the road. Wilkins scored seven of his points during that span to secure the Bulldogs' victory.
 
"We had a couple of good breaks in there, but I thought Anthony Murphy's three was a big one and we got just enough stops and timely buckets," DeVries said of the final four minutes.
 
The Bulldogs used an early 8-0 run to jump out to a 15-9 lead, but Valpo countered with a similar run of their own to close the gap midway through the first half. Neither squad led by more than a possession for the remainder of the half and a Wilkins three-pointer with 23 seconds left gave the Bulldogs a 29-26 lead halftime. Wilkins finished with nine first-half points, three assists and four rebounds.
 
Drake built a five-point lead in first three minutes of the second half before that was erased and another five-point, 41-36, lead was established seven minutes into the half.  Two minutes later an Anthony Murphy dunk put the Bulldogs up nine points, 50-41. However, the Crusaders eventually pulled within four points in the final with five minutes to play before Drake put away the Crusaders for good.
 
The Bulldogs bring their four-game streak back to Des Moines next to host Illinois State Wednesday evening at the Knapp Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will feature a halftime dunk contest between some of the world's top athletes as part of 'Relays Night' at the Knapp Center.