DES MOINES, Iowa -- Roman Penn achieved a personal milestone by reaching 1,000 career points in helping the Drake University men's basketball team to an 86-75 victory over Illinois State at the Knapp Center on Wednesday night.
 
"I'm so grateful for the position that I'm in," Penn said. "There are a lot of people that helped me achieve this. I'm very appreciative for everyone along the way."
 
Penn, a fifth-year senior, scored 16 points to run his career total to 1,003 as the Bulldogs improved to 3-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference and 12-5 overall with their 13th straight victory at home and fourth in a row over Illinois State. Freshman Tucker DeVries also scored 16 in the fast-paced game. 
 
Illinois State (8-8, 1-2) knocked down 10 3-pointers and kept within striking distance until the Bulldogs pulled safely ahead in the final 7 minutes. Penn, who entered the game with 987 points, was the key in making that happen.
 
"I thought we did a nice job offensively the whole night," head coach Darian DeVries said. "You have to make sure that you are organized and in rhythm when playing against Illinois State. I thought Roman was tremendous in helping us do that."
 
Illinois State jumped to an early 16-11 lead with the help of four 3-point baskets. Drake then held the Redbirds scoreless for more than 4 minutes and ran off 12 straight points to open a 23-16 lead, DeVries capping the burst with a deep 3. DeVries finished 3-for-8 from long range and now has 41 for the season, moving him into fourth place among Drake freshmen.
 
For most of the way after that, the game was one of spurts. Illinois State would cut into the lead and then Drake would pull away. The Redbirds pulled into a tie at 42 when Josiah Strong banked in a soft floater from the right side with 40 seconds left in the first half. But they never regained the lead, Penn's driving layup putting the Bulldogs up 44-42 at halftime.
 
Drake was leading 71-65 when Penn pulled up for a jump shot at the 6:42 mark, then drove for a basket a little more than a minute later to make it a 10-point game. DeVries found Sturtz for a wide-open layup in a half-court set that stretched the lead to 79-67 and that was too much for the Redbirds to overcome.
 
Penn, who missed seven games earlier because of a foot injury, wasn't finished, though. He topped the 1,000-point mark when he got inside and lofted in a short shot from right in front the basket. After Illinois State's Kendell Lewis sank two free throws, Penn scored on a driving one-handed scoop, then put the finishing touches on the victory with a pass from the lane to D.J. Wilkins, who buried a 3 from the left wing for the game's final points.
 
Wilkins finished with 11 points and Sturtz scored 12 on 6-foot-6 shooting. Sturtz, who's 11-for-12 in the past two games, also grabbed five rebounds, handed out two assists and made two steals. Tremell Murphy added 10 points, all in a stretch of 3:56 to help the Bulldogs increase their lead to 79-67.
 
Lewis led Illinois State with 20 points, including 4-for-6 shooting from behind the arc. The Bulldogs did a solid job on the Redbirds' Antonio Reeves, the Valley's leading scorer with a 21.1 average. Reeves scored 15 points but made just 5-of-13 shots.
 
Penn's point total includes 780 over the last three seasons at Drake. He played his freshman season at Siena.
 
"Roman has meant so much to our program," DeVries said. "He's a tremendous leader and is a great representation of our program. You can feel his energy on the floor and the sideline. It's great to have him back out there."
 
Illinois State got to within a single point early in the second half and twice got within 4, but the Bulldogs answered each time, then turned to Penn, its veteran point guard, to secure the victory.
     
TEAM NOTES
•Drake improved its record to 12-5, including a 3-1 Missouri Valley Conference record entering a Monday (Jan. 17) game at Southern Illinois.
•The Bulldogs earned their 13^th consecutive home win.
•Drake has gone 61-8 at home since 2017-18, while winning 30 of its last 31 games.
•Drake is 10-0 at home this season. 
•This marked Darian DeVries 82^nd career coaching victory at Drake, which ranks sixth on the school's all-time coaching victory list. He also became the fastest coach to achieve 82 wins in Drake school history, accomplishing that feat in 116 games.
•Drake's 44 points in the first half marked the seventh time this season the Bulldogs had scored 40-plus points in the first half.
•Drake improved to 8-1 when leading at half this season.
•Drake moved to 36-1 under coach Darian DeVries when scoring 80 or more points. 
•Drake outrebounded Illinois State, 27-25, to improve its record to 9-1 when outrebounding opponents this year.
•Drake's bench scored 29 points.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Tucker DeVries and Roman Penn each scored a team-high 16 points with DeVries tallying 10 points in the first half and Penn scoring 10 in the second half.
•Penn bettered his previous season best of 13 points against South Dakota, while also reaching 1,003 points in his career (223- Siena 2017-18; 780-Drake 2019-present). Penn also tied a season high with six assists.
•It marked DeVries 14^thdouble figure scoring game of the season.
•D.J. Wilkins collected 11 points, while Tremell Murphy added 10 points — in a span of 3:56 in the second half. 
•DeVries moved into No. 4 on the Drake freshman single season three-point baskets made list at 40, surpassing Klayton Korver (2006-07) and Rayvonte Rice (2003-04) who had each made 39 treys during their first season at Drake.
•Garrett Sturtz made all six shots. He has made 11 of 12 shots from the floor (.916) over the last two games. 
•Guard Ayo Akinowle made two free throws, extending his streak to consecutive free throws made to 29 dating back to last year when he played at Omaha
•Akinwole finished with four points after going scoreless in his previous two games against Missouri State and Evansville
•Okay Djamgouz came off the bench scoring nine points. 
 
The Series
•Drake, winning its fourth straight game against Illinois State, trails in the overall series to the Redbirds, 61-36. 
•The Bulldogs are 24-20 against Illinois State in games played in Des Moines, including 17-14, in the Knapp Center.
•Drake head coach Darian DeVries holds a 6-3 record against Illinois State.