ST. THOMAS, U.S.V.I. – Tucker DeVries poured in a career-high 29 points as the Drake men's basketball team held off Wyoming, 61-56 in the semifinal round of the Paradise Jam at the Sports and Fitness Center on Sunday (Nov. 20). The Bulldogs (4-0) moved on to the Paradise Jam championship while Wyoming (3-2) will play in the third place game.
 
"He (Tucker DeVries) was in a nice rhythm tonight," head coach Darian DeVries said. "I thought Tucker did a good job of being selective. He got himself going and then began to be creative making some really tough shots."

DeVries finished with 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field including a 4-of-6 clip beyond the arc. Sardaar Calhoun added nine points while Garrett Sturtz tallied seven points and grabbed three rebounds.

Eric Northweather cut to the basket and DeVries found him for an easy layup as the Bulldogs got off to a strong 11-5 start at the 13:39 mark of the first half. A little over a minute later, Sardaar Calhoun buried a trey from straight on as Drake was doubling up Wyoming, 18-9.
 
The Bulldogs were in a dry spell for nearly six minutes until DeVries drilled a triple with 6:13 remaining in the first half for a 21-15 advantage. DeVries connected on two more trifectas as Drake closed the first half on a 16-3 run (14 points scored by DeVries) for a 34-18 halftime lead.
 
Wyoming found success from behind the arc in the second half. Darnell Brodie countered by muscling his way inside for a layup to increase Drake's lead back to double digits at 40-30 (14:13 left).
 
With 12:53 remaining, the Bulldogs turned it over and Hunter Maldonado converted a layup on the other end to cut the Cowboy deficit to one possession (40-37). Wyoming came as close as two points when it trailed 44-42 at the 7:47 mark of the second half before Drake started to click again offensively.
 
"I thought we were terrific in the first half," Darian DeVries said. "I loved our toughness and we had a good flow offensively. We came out a little flat in the second half. Wyoming came out with a nice game plan in the second half to attack us. We had to adjust on the fly."
 
Conor Enright and DeVries drilled back-to-back threes as the Bulldogs claimed a 51-44 advantage with 4:09 to play. Only 58 seconds remained when DeVries made a difficult fadeaway jumper to extend the Bulldog lead to 57-51.
 
The Cowboys did not go down quietly. Xavier Dusell made a three-pointer from the right corner to claw Wyoming back within one possession (59-56). Wyoming got the ball back and had a chance to tie the game with time running out before Ethan Anderson was called for an offensive foul. D.J. Wilkins swished the two ensuing free throw attempts to clinch a 61-56 victory.
 
"Games are 40 minutes long," DeVries said. "No matter how much you want them to be shorter or longer in some cases, you have to play the full 40 minutes. Wyoming made their run and cut it to two. I thought our guys did a great job of not panicking and got stops when they needed to. We had really good possessions on offense to close it out."

Drake will play Tarleton State for the Paradise Jam title on Monday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. CT.

TEAM NOTES
•Drake advanced to the Paradise Jam championship game. The Bulldogs last won a preseason tournament in 2018 at the Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic
•Drake is off to its second 4-0 start in the Darian Devries era.
•Drake improved its all-time Paradise Jam record to 5-3.
•Drake has an 18-8 record on Sundays under head coach Darian DeVries
•Drake is 26-14 in games decided by five points or less in the Darian DeVries era.
•Drake is 34-4 when holding opponents under 60 points.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Darian DeVries earned career win No. 99.
•Tucker DeVries scored a career-high 29 points and made a career-high 10 field goals. He has scored at least 22 points in three of four games this season.
•Roman Penn made his 87^th start for Drake (his two games coming off of the bench this season were the only two games he did not start).
•Darnell Brodie collected a team-high nine rebounds.
 
THE SERIES
•Wyoming leads the all-time series, 4-2 with Drake earning its first win against the Cowboys since 1960.