Doug DeVoe

Box Score

Drake DRA 20-14,8-10 MVC

Bradley Brad 22-11,11-7 MVC

Drake DRA

20-14,8-10 MVC

Final

Mar. 07, 2020

Bradley Brad

22-11,11-7 MVC

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Drake DRA	35	31	66
Bradley Brad	44	32	76

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/7/2020 5:45:00 PM | Drake Athletic Communications

Men's Basketball's MVC Tournament Run Ended In Semifinals

The Bulldogs fell to Bradley, 76-66, in the MVC Tournament semifinals.

ST. LOUIS – The Drake University men's basketball team saw its run in the Missouri Valley Conference come to an end with a 76-66 loss to Bradley in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at the Enterprise Center.

"First, congrats to Bradley on advancing," said Drake head coach Darian DeVries. "I thought they played really well. For us, it's disappointing to be heading home. I thought our guys really left it all out there and gave it everything they had. Unfortunately, we came up a little bit short tonight."

The Bulldogs (20-14) dug themselves an early hole as Bradley rattled off two separate 7-0 runs to take an 18-8 lead. The Braves converted three Drake turnovers into six points during that span.

Liam Robbins, who led Drake with 19 points, kept the Bulldogs close in the beginning. Robbins connected on four of his first six shot attempts while the rest of the Bulldogs went 1-of-11 to open the game.

While Drake searched for its offense, the Braves found theirs in Darrell Brown.

Brown ran up 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the first half, the second-highest output in a half for his career. Brown poured in 20 points in the second half against Drake on Feb. 5.

"Probably the biggest difference was Brown," said DeVries. "I thought he was super, especially in that first half. That was a senior not wanting to go home, and I thought he played exceptionally well."

With Brown at the controls, Bradley committed just one turnover in the opening 20 minutes in addition to connecting on its final seven shot attempts. Drake trailed 44-35 at the break.

The Bulldogs opened the second half by misfiring on their first seven tries as Bradley's advantage swelled to 13, the largest of the game.

Drake showed its mettle by reeling off 10-straight points, punctuated by a deep 3-pointer from Roman Penn, to bring the Bulldogs within three. Penn built on his strong MVC Tournament by recording 17 points, seven rebounds and a game-high six assists.

It was the Braves' turn to demonstrate their resolve, and they did so by posting a 7-0 burst to extend their lead back to double-digits.

"We cut it down to three, and we were right there," said DeVries. "I thought they had some guys really hit some big shots. Every time we gave them a challenge, I thought they answered and hit us right back with a big play."

DJ Wilkins was aggressive offensively for Drake throughout the game. He netted 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the closing minutes as Drake attempted to mount a comeback.

To do so, Drake needed defensive stops, and that started with Penn's defense on Brown. Penn pestered Bradley's top man with a full-court press in the second half, and the strategy worked: Brown's lone field goal of the second half came with 3:19 remaining. He finished with 25 points.

Robbins aided in Drake's defensive efforts, swatting two shots to extend his single-season record to 99. Robbins (134) passed Aliou Keita (133) for the No. 2 spot on Drake's all-time blocks list. The Davenport native also hauled in a game-best 12 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.

Anthony Murphy, a senior, played valiant all-around basketball. Murphy finished with nine points and nine rebounds, and he brought the Drake crowd to its feet twice with a pair of emphatic blocks. Murphy struggled shooting, but he willed himself to the free-throw line, hitting 6-of-10 attempts.

With a pair of wins this year, Drake has won two or more games at the MVC Tournament for the second time in program history.

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