NORMAL, Ill. – The Drake University men's basketball team won a back-and-forth contest and fended off Illinois State in an 89-88 overtime decision at Redbird Arena on Wednesday (Jan. 26). 

"This was a unique one," head coach Darian DeVries said. "I thought both teams had hard times getting stops. We feel very fortunate after missing some free throws down the stretch. We missed some opportunities, but when we needed to we made some big plays."
 
Garrett Sturtz made a shifty move underneath for a layup early in the first half with 15:36 left and only half a minute later, Tucker DeVries buried a triple for a 14-4 lead. Illinois State responded with a 15-0 run capped off by a Kendall Lewis driving layup as the Bulldogs found themselves trailing 19-14 with 11:23 remaining in the first half.
 
Returning after being sidelined for four games due to injury, ShanQuan Hemphill slammed an alley-oop dunk off of a pass from D.J. Wilkins with 4:03 to play in the frame and the contest even at 29 points apiece. The Redbirds pulled ahead again, but Sturtz floated a shot down from the lane to cut the deficit to a single point (38-37) at halftime.

"It was great to see Tank (Hemphill) out there," DeVries said. "I thought he looked terrific especially in the first half."
 
The Redbirds built a 5-point lead (48-43) after an old-fashioned 3-point play by Kendall Lewis with 16:19 left in the second half. Hemphill was a part of a Drake rally to tie the game, 52-52 with 14:48 remaining following a hoop-and-the-harm of his own.
 
DeVries dished the ball to Wilkins along the right wing for his fourth made 3-pointer of the contest that put Drake ahead, 64-62 at the 8:47 mark of the second half. With 4:03 to play, the Redbirds attempted to save the ball from going out of bounds and tossed the ball right to Tucker DeVries for a dunk and 72-71 advantage.
 
With 1:02 left with the score all tied up, 76-76, Penn delivered another clutch shot in the form of a contested floater to put the visitors on top.
 
The Bulldogs led 78-77 until Antonio Reeves drove hard to the basket and converted an off-balance layup to move the Redbirds in front with 23 seconds left in regulation. Penn split at the charity stripe as the game went to overtime tied, 79-79.
 
Both teams exchanged baskets to begin the extra period. Sturtz knocked down a pair of free throws to push Drake back ahead 89-88 with 1:24 left. Those would be the final points of the game as both defenses were stingy and the Bulldog defense held strong as Illinois State could not score on the final possession of the contest. 

"To win three road games by one point takes a tremendous amount of resilience," DeVries added. 

Drake is scheduled to be back in action again at home against Loyola at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 30. The game will be a 'Whiteout' inside the Knapp Center with t-shirts given away until supplies last.
 
TEAM NOTES  
•Drake, winning its second straight game, improved to 15-6 overall, including a 6-2 MVC record, entering a Sunday home game against Loyola.
•The Bulldogs won their fourth straight road game – second straight in overtime— while improving to 5-1 in road contests this season.
•This also marked Drake's third MVC road win determined by one point – others were identical 60-59 wins at Southern Illinois and Evansville.
•With six players reaching double figures in scoring, this marked the fourth time this season— all away from the Knapp Center— where Drake had five or more players score in double figures. The previous games were against Omaha (five), Clemson (six), UNI (five).
•Drake improved its record to 3-1 in overtime games this season, while winning its third consecutive overtime contest.
•Darian DeVries improved his record at Drake to 7-2 in overtime games.
•Drake held Illinois State to one basket in the final 5:49 of regulation.
•The Bulldogs collected 13 offensive rebounds marking the 13^thtime, including third straight game, reaching double figures in offensive rebounds.
•Drake improved to 38-1 during the Darian DeVries coaching era when scoring 80 or more points, including 8-1 this season. 
•Drake outrebounded Illinois State, 42-34, improving to 12-1 when outrebounding opponents this season.
•Drake improved to 5-5 this season when trailing at half, after rallying from a 38-37 halftime deficit. 
•Darian DeVries earned his 85^thcareer victory at Drake, including his 41^stMVC victory. 
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Senior guard D.J. Wilkins and freshman swingman Tucker DeVries led Drake with 18 points apiece. Wilkins scored 15 points in the second half.
•Shanquan Hemphill, who was sidelined the last four games because of a leg injury, made his first appearance in a contest since Jan. 8 collecting 15 points (eight in first half), including two dunks, in 21 minutes. 
•Wilkins made four three-point baskets for the second straight game. It marked the 34th time in his career (ninth this season), making three or more treys in a game.
•Senior swingman Garrett Stutrz collected 14 points and 11 rebounds to enjoy his fourth double-double of the season and seventh of his career.  Sturtz also tied a season high with three steals.
•It marked the 11^thdouble digit scoring game of the season by Sturtz, including his fifth straight.
•Senior Tremell Murphy and guard Roman Penn added 10 points apiece.
 •DeVries has scored in double figures in 18 games this season, including the last five contests.
•Muprhy and DeVries scored four points apiece for Drake in overtime.
•Murphy tied a season high with nine rebounds, while blocking two shots.
•DeVries also dished out six assists.
•Murphy came up big in overtime with six points, while collecting two blocked shots in a 16-second span in overtime.
•Reserve guard Ayo Akinwole made two free throws to extend his consecutive free throw string to 29.
 
THE SERIES
•The Bulldogs earned their fifth straight victory against Illinois State dating back to March 5, 2020.
•Drake also snapped an eight-game losing streak at Illinois State, earning its first victory at Redbird Arena since an 82-77 triumph Jan. 12, 2013.
•Drake moved its record to 9-36 in games played at Illinois State. The Redbirds still lead the all-time series against Drake at 63-37.