CHICAGO, Ill. --  It took overtime, but the Drake men's basketball team earned its first road win of the season in a 76-71 victory at UIC inside Credit Union 1 Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
 
Several different Bulldogs (13-5, 4-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play) contributed as Tucker DeVries helped the visitors over the top with 15 points (seven in overtime) and nine rebounds. Roman Penn matched his season-high of 8 assists to pair with 15 points. Garrett Sturtz moved into second all-time on the Drake career rebounds chart with his fourth double-double of the season (12 points, 10 rebounds).
 
"It was a hard fought road win," head coach Darian DeVries said. "It was a great team contribution by a lot of different players. Our guys made some unbelievable plays for us."

Three minutes into the contest, UIC (9-9, 1-6) jumped out to a 10-3 lead after Jace Carter drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing. DeVries slipped free to drain a right side triple to trim the early deficit to 12-10 at the 14:30 mark of the first half.
 
Mundelein, Ill., native Conor Enright lost control of the ball, but ripped the ball back on the floor to get the ball to Nate Ferguson of Lemont, Ill., for the layup with the Bulldogs trailing by a deuce again, 18-16.
 
Okay Djamgouz was left open for a corner trifecta just before the under-8 break as the Bulldogs once again clawed within two points, 23-21. UIC's Jalen Jackson connected on a corner trey of his own to increase the Flames' margin to 33-24 with 4:32 remaining before halftime. The Bulldogs closed the first half outscoring the Flames, 6-2 to face a 35-30 halftime deficit.
 
The second half began with a 7-0 Drake run highlighted by a thunderous Darnell Brodie slam in transition forcing Luke Yaklich to spend a UIC timeout in the early stages (17:14 left). Drake's run stretched to 11-0 after DeVries flipped a shot up and in for a 41-35 advantage with 13:58 to play.
 
UIC regained momentum and the lead a little over halfway through the second half when Toby Okani converted a layup through traffic for a 46-45 Flame edge. The home team continued to control the lead until 4:30 left in regulation when the score drew even at 52 points apiece.
 
A pair of Brodie free throws pushed the Bulldogs back in front before back-to-back buckets by DeVries and Penn created a 60-55 advantage with only 1:43 still ticking.
 
The Flames did not go down quietly. With half a minute left, Jackson stole the ball at half-court before converting an old-fashioned 3-point play to bring UIC within 60-59.
 
Penn was fouled with 27 seconds to go and he split at the charity stripe. Tre Anderson embarked on a drive to the basket for the game-tying layup. Penn missed a layup in regulation's final moments as the game entered overtime, all square at 61-61.
 
"It was a strange game with a variety of emotions," Darian DeVries said. "In the first half,
we were following them around but in the second half we were aggressive and played stronger defense."
 
In overtime with 2:40 to play, DeVries found Garrett Sturtz for a tough layup and 65-63 advantage. Tied 65-65, Conor Enright got a teardrop runner to fall in the lane as the Bulldogs pulled ahead again. This time, DeVries stepped up as the closer to score seven points in less than a minute (1:11-:14). Enright buried the two free throws in the waning moments to seal the 76-71 OT road win.
 
"It's hard to believe that you can win on the road with 16 turnovers and 11 missed free throws," Darian DeVries said. "We found a way to win it by making plays down the stretch."

Drake will return home for its Suit Up Against Pediatric Cancer game against Bradley on Saturday, Jan. 14 inside the Knapp Center at 7 p.m.

TEAM NOTES
•Tonight was Drake's first overtime game of the season. Darian DeVries owns a 9-3 record in overtime games as a head coach.
•Drake outrebounded UIC, 37-27, improving to 10-0 this season when outrebounding opponents and 82-13 under the Darian DeVries coaching era.
•Drake is 4-3 this season when trailing at halftime.
•The Bulldogs secured their first road win of the year and are now 1-5 in road games this season.
•Drake is 2-0 in games played on Tuesdays and 14-5 on Tuesdays during the Darian DeVries era
•All 10 Bulldogs that entered the game scored.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•With 821 career rebounds, Garrett Sturtz passed Jonathan Cox (818 rebounds) for second on Drake's all-time rebounding list.
•Sturtz notched his fourth double-double of the season and 13^th of his career.
•Roman Penn matched his season-high of eight assists.
 
THE SERIES
•Drake, winning its fourth straight game against the Flames, improved its series record to 9-2 against UIC (3-1 in Chicago).