DES MOINES, Iowa – Similar to the first time these two teams met back on Jan. 17, the Drake University men's basketball team defended Southern Illinois on the final possession of the game and the Bulldogs held strong for a 62-60 win at the Knapp Center on Saturday (Feb. 26).

"I thought we came out and played well in the first half," head coach Darian DeVries said. "We let Southern Illinois and Marcus Domask get going to allow SIU to claw back into the game. We got a little stagnant in the second half. We made just enough plays late in the game at both ends of the floor to get an important win."

Drake (22-9, 13-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play) wore gold warmup shirts and gold laces in honor of the Suit Up Against Pediatric Cancer Game.

Both teams got off to fast offensive starts. D.J. Wilkins hit back-to-back 3-pointers to kick off the scoring for Drake. Tremell Murphy buried a right wing trifecta for an 11-8 lead at the 16:42 mark of the first half.

The Bulldogs led 15-13 a little over the halfway point of the first period (9:42) when they ventured on a 12-0 run capped off by a Murphy Fastbreak bucket that was created by a Tucker DeVries steal. Garrett Sturtz converted a layup on a nice cut to the basket in the final minute before halftime as Drake controlled a 34-20 advantage at the break. The Salukis (16-14, 9-9) were limited to 33.3 percent (9-for-27) shooting from the field in the first half.

Ayo Akinwole connected on a triple to stretch Drake's lead back to double digits (44-33) six minutes into the second half. Southern Illinois responded with a 9-0 run over the next 2:07 to trim the deficit to just two points.

The Bulldogs pushed the margin to eight points again (54-46) when Penn drilled his second trey of the game with 6:48 remaining in regulation. Penn was clutch down the stretch drilling a mid-range jumper to put his team in front, 62-58 with only 20 seconds left.

SIU got the ball back trailing 62-60 with under 10 seconds to go. Marcus Domask missed the potential game-tying basket from the baseline as Drake again fended off the Salukis for a hard-fought victory.
Drake men's basketball honored seniors Jonah Jackson, Ayo Akinwole, ShanQuan Hemphill and Tremell Murphy in a postgame ceremony.

"All of our seniors are special," DeVries said. "I love their unselfishness and how they represent our program and university. I am so excited for their next step in life. All four have very bright futures."

The Bulldogs earned the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 seed Southern Illinois again in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday, March 4 at 8:30 p.m. inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. 

TEAM NOTES
•Drake is on a season-best five-game winning streak.
•Drake's record improved to 22-9, marking the second straight season that the program has won 22 games and sixth time in program history.
•Drake finished the regular season 13-5 in MVC play, marking the second straight year the Bulldogs have won 13 or more conference games.
•Drake's home record improved to 14-3 and 69-9 since the 2017-18 campaign.
•Darian DeVries earned his 92nd career coaching victory at Drake, the fourth most victories in school history.
•Drake tied a season high with six blocked shots, marking the sixth game this season the Bulldogs have blocked five or more shots in a contest.
•Drake improved to 15-3 when leading at halftime.
•The Bulldogs outrebounded Southern Illinois, 29-23, moving to 19-2 when outrebounding opponents this season.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Guard Tremell Murphy led Drake with 14 points, marking the 14^th time this season that he has scored in double figures.
•Swingman Garrett Sturtz recorded his sixth double-double of the season with a 10 points and 10 rebounds. He also picked up three steals.
 
•ShanQuan Hemphill scored eight points and hauled in six rebounds. He is six points away (994) from scoring 1,000 career points.
•Guard Roman Penn added 12 points, including nine in the second half, while dishing out three assists.
•Penn made a season-high two 3-point baskets.
•Penn's consecutive free throw streak of 14 was snapped.
•Penn moved his school record career assists mark to 414.
 
THE SERIES
•Drake has won fourth straight games against Southern Illinois, including three straight in Des Moines.
•DeVries' head-to-head coaching record against Southern Illinois is now 5-3.
•After 100 meetings, Southern Illinois leads the all-time series 60-40.