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Anthony Murphy
Dave Winder/Murray State
53
Murray State MSU 4-3
63
Winner Drake DU 6-2
Murray State MSU
4-3
53
Final
63
Drake DU
6-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Murray State MSU 36 17 53
Drake DU 36 27 63

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Drake Athletic Communications

Men’s Basketball Uses Second-Half Defense To Shut Down Murray State

Bulldogs hold Murray State to 18 percent shooting in the second half.

ESTERO, Fla. - The Drake University men's basketball team ratcheted up the defensive pressure again in holding Murray State to 18 percent shooting in the second half to defeat the Racers, 63-53, in the Bulldogs' final game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Drake (6-2) won its final two games of the event to finish with a 2-1 record in the event. 

"I loved the way we bounced back after our first game, and our last two games we were outstanding defensively and competed for all 40 minutes," said Drake head coach Darian DeVries. "Offensively, we're not quite there yet, but we were much better in the first half today."

Murray State, which was one of the top 15 teams in scoring in the nation last season and averaging nearly 80 points per game, was held to a season-low 53 points and shot just 32.1 percent overall in the game. Tevin Brown was MSU's only double-figure scorer with 15 points.

"I thought our guys have done a good job of focusing on the other team's strengths and trying to take away what they do best," DeVries said.

D.J. Wilkins' 18 points led the Bulldogs with four three-pointers while Tremell and Anthony Murphy combined for 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting. The trio scored 10 of the Bulldogs' first 12 points of the game to jumpstart an offense that had struggled recently but shot 44.2 percent in the win.

Roman Penn added six assists and two steals. Every Bulldog that checked into the game scored and all but two corralled a rebound. 

"I told them it was going to take everybody today," DeVries said. "We had guys come off the bench to contribute and it took everyone to get it done. It was a total team effort."

The two teams began the second half tied at 36-36 after swapping leads early. Then Drake's defense ended the see-saw game early in the second half as it held Murray State scoreless for almost seven minutes and without a field goal for the first nine minutes of the period. 

During that span, Drake's offense was able to build up a nine-point 50-41 lead with 11 of those second-half points coming from Wilkins and the Murphys. MSU drew within six points in the final four minutes, but the Bulldogs answered again with six-straight points to build up a double-digit lead that it maintained for the victory.

"They're a tough, physical basketball team that we had to go toe-to-toe with and I thought our guys stood up the whole time and gutted it out," DeVries said.

The Bulldogs return home for the Thanksgiving holiday to prepare for their next contest, a Dec. 3 date against Milwaukee. Tipoff at the Knapp Center is set for 7 p.m.
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