George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands – Reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Tucker DeVries caught fire in the second half as the Drake men's basketball team pulled away from Akron for a rebound 79-59 victory in the third-place game of the Cayman Islands Classic at John Gray Gymnasium on Tuesday, Nov. 21.
 
"I thought the guys did a really good job of making changes from yesterday to today," head coach Darian DeVries said. "They were focused on what we were trying to do. Guys were finding each other and we were about as connected as we've been all year defensively. We learned a lot about ourselves in these three games. We saw three completely different teams and different styles of play."
 
In an even first half, Drake battled to visit the free throw line. The Bulldogs ended the first half on a 10-0 run capped off by a Nate Ferguson slam dunk and a steal-induced layup by Tucker DeVries for a 35-29 halftime edge.
 
The DU advantage reached double figures (49-39) with 14:30 left to play in the second half after Darnell Brodie posted up inside.
 
From then on, it was the Tucker DeVries show, scoring the next eight Drake points and forcing Akron head coach John Groce to spend a timeout with his team trailing 57-42 at the 12:18 mark. DeVries drilled four of his 3-point shot attempts in a row as Drake zipped past the Zips in the second half, 79-59.
 
"When you miss as many shots as I had the first five halves of the tournament, they're bound to eventually go in," Tucker DeVries said. The opposing teams did a good job keeping me out of rhythm in the first two games. As I started to make a couple of shots, I got in the groove and felt more comfortable."
 
The Bulldogs limited Akron forward Enrique Freeman to 11 points while guard Greg Tribble also scored 11 in defeat.
 
Kevin Overton finished with 15 points and was named to the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament Team. Darnell Brodie reached double digits scoring with 11 of his own to pair with six boards. Brodie, Conor Enright and DeVries all had three assists. Colby Garland chipped in a team-best five assists.
 
Drake men's basketball will return home to welcome Texas Southern to the Knapp Center for a 6 p.m. tip on Saturday, Nov. 25.
 
TEAM NOTES

• 59 points are the fewest allowed by Drake so far this season.
• The Bulldogs outrebounded Akron, 33-24.
• As a team, the Bulldogs dished out 18 assists.
• Drake improved its neutral site record to 25-14 during the Darian DeVries era.
• The Bulldogs are 95-13 under Darian DeVries when leading at halftime.
• Drake shot 55.8 percent from the field (29-52).
• Drake improved to 2-0 this season and 18-5 during the Darian DeVries era in games played on a Tuesday.
• The Bulldogs are 3-0 this year and 96-13 under Darian DeVries when leading at halftime.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Kevin Overton averaged 18.7 points and made 11 total 3-pointers over the course of three games to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
• The 33-point performance is the second-highest scoring output by Tucker DeVries in his career after 36 points in the season-opener against Lipscomb.
• DeVries has scored 30 points or more four times in his career so far.
• DeVries scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half, finishing 5-for-11 from beyond the arc.
• DeVries' nine rebounds are his second-most this season.
• Colby Garland led Drake with five helpers, his career-high.

SERIES HISTORY

• Drake leads the all-time series against Akron, 3-1, with today being the first meeting between the two teams since 2009.