CARBONDALE, Ill. – Led by 20 points and critical plays down the stretch from D.J. Wilkins (Merrillville, Ind.), the Drake University men's basketball team propelled itself to a 72-69 in at SIU Tuesday, Feb. 12, evening.
 
Wilkins matched a career-high with 20 points, none bigger than his final five points of the game as he converted on a crucial three-point play and a pair of free throws in the waning moments of the Bulldogs' 19th win of the season.
 
"I'm proud of our guys, the battled start-to-finish," said Drake head coach Darian DeVries. "They didn't get rattled and we had multiple guys step up to make free throws and clinch it for us."
 
Brady Ellingson (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) added 17 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting and also converted on a pair of free throws with less than 20 seconds remaining. Nick McGlynn (Stoughton, Wis.) continued his tear through the Missouri Valley Conference with 10 points and 13 rebounds. 
 
"When you go on the road, you need to have multiple guys step up and make plays to get a road win," DeVries added. "Our guys have been doing that, which is hard to do and we're looking forward to being back in the Knapp Center Saturday."
 
SIU (13-13, 6-7 MVC) was paced by 21 points from Armon Fletcher and 19 points from Kavion Pippen in the Salukis' second loss of the season to Drake (19-7, 8-5 MVC).
 
Drake held a double-figure lead with seven minutes left in the contest before SIU chipped away to pull within three points, 65-62, on a Pippen hook shot in the lane followed by a steal-and-score by the Salukis.
 
However, Wilkins answered with his basket and foul to re-establish control for the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, a critical Drake turnover with 24 seconds left drew the Salukis back within two points, 68-66, with 24 seconds remaining. 
 
SIU was forced to foul on the next possession, putting Ellingson on the line first to stretch the lead back to three points, 69-66, before SIU's Marcus Bartley converted on a deep three-pointer with 10 seconds left to recharge SIU's comeback hopes.
 
Fortunately for Drake, the ball found its way into Wilkins' capable hands to allow him to match his career-high with his final two points of the night to win the game.
 
"D.J. and Brady played a tremendous game for us," DeVries said. "They had to work on every possession and they made some huge shots for us in that second half."
 
SIU opened the game by scoring on its first four possessions and held an early 8-4 lead in the first two minutes of the contest before the Bulldog defense settled in and held the Salukis to just two points in the next five minutes while engineering a 16-2 run. 
 
A Wilkins three-pointer capped that run to put Drake up 20-10 with 12:10 left in the half. SIU briefly pulled within five points at multiple junctures in the opening period, but a Wilkins three-pointer with 35 seconds left sent Drake into halftime with a 42-35 lead. Wilkins finished the half with 11 points on three three-pointers and was perfect shooting from the field en route to his clutch second-half performance.
 
The Bulldogs return home, where they are 10-2 this season, to host Valparaiso Saturday, Feb. 16, afternoon at 2 p.m.