EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Drake University men's basketball team overcame a double digit first half deficit and held on to edge Evansville, 60-59 at the Ford Center on Saturday (Jan. 8).
 
"Proud of the win, head coach Darian DeVries said. "Especially to go on road on short notice. This is what league play is about. You find a way to win. We were lucky to survive on that last little sequence."
 
At the 15:16 mark early in the first half, Tucker DeVries buried a left wing trey to move the Bulldogs ahead, 9-8. The game was tied at 21 points apiece with 7:03 to play in the opening half before the Purple Aces responded with a 7-0 run that ended with 4:30 left before halftime.
 
Evansville got comfortable from beyond the arc towards the end of the first half, including Shamar Givance, who connected on a trifecta with 2:57 to go for a double digit 33-23 advantage. Making back-to-back starts, Roman Penn sank a shot in the waning seconds of the first half as Drake trailed 33-27 at half.
 
The Bulldogs were firing on all cylinders coming out of the halftime break. D.J. Wilkins knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the second half to pull Drake within one possession, 38-36. DeVries tallied a pair of baskets as the Bulldogs sat in front by a 42-41 score with 13:19 remaining.
 
 "I thought coming out at halftime we did a good job of flipping the switch, DeVries said. "We were flat in the first half."
 
The visitors led by as many as nine points (53-44) with 9:30 left in the second half after Tremell Murphy drove in for a layup. Darnell Brodie muscled inside to put Drake ahead, 60-54 as 2:39 was displayed on the clock.
 
The Purple Aces did not go quietly and trimmed the deficit to only one point while getting the final possession of the game. Drake's defense hunkered down and forced a pair of misses to fend off Evansville on the road.
 
Drake men's basketball is scheduled to play next against Illinois State inside the Knapp Center on Wednesday (Jan. 12) at 7 p.m.
 
TEAM NOTES
•Drake improved its record to 11-5, including a 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference record entering a Wednesday home game with Illinois State.
•This marked the Bulldogs' second road win of the season.
•Drake improved its record to 2-1 in games decided by three points or less.
•The Bulldogs moved to 3-4 this season when trailing at half after erasing a 33-27 halftime deficit.
•Drake is 5-1 (28-4 during Darian DeVries coaching era) when holding opponents under 60 points.
•Darian DeVries improved his coaching record at Drake to 81-34, including a 6-1 career mark against Evansville.
•The Bulldogs recorded season lows in offensive rebounds (four) and steals (two). 
•This marked the first game this season Drake did not score any second-chance points.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Freshman Tucker DeVries, who was coming off a season-low four points in his last outing at Missouri State, paced a balanced Drake scoring attack with 15 points. It marked his 13^th double-figure scoring game of the season, including the ninth time in the last 10 games.
•Guard D.J. Wilkins, making his 112^th consecutive start added 11 points, making three three-point baskets for the seventh time this season and 32^ndgame in his career.
•Center Darnell Brodie came off the bench to score 10 points, marking the sixth time in the last seven games he has scored in double digits.
•Swingman Garrett Sturtz had nine points and nine rebounds, while tying a career-high with two blocked shots.
•DeVries made two three-point baskets to move into No. 6 on the Drake single-season freshman list for three-point baskets made at 38, passing Ben Simons who made 37 in 2009-10.