VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Drake men's basketball team did not lead in regulation but prevailed in two overtimes in consecutive games after an 85-82 win over Valparaiso at the Athletics-Recreation Center on Saturday night (Feb. 4).

"It was a great road win," head coach Darian DeVries said. "I'm really proud that we battled back. We just didn't have it for a good portion of the game. We couldn't get stops and didn't get much flow offensively."
 
Tucker DeVries scored a career-high 32 points and snagged 11 rebounds. Roman Penn delivered 16 points with a career-best 12 rebounds while maneuvering around four personal fouls late.
 
"Tucker looked like his old self," Darian DeVries said. He got to his spots while making some big shots for us. Our bench gave us some good minutes. Now we need some rest. We have to regroup and clear our minds for another road game."

The Beacons jumped out to an 8-2 lead within the first three minutes of the contest. Only a minute later, DeVries trimmed the early deficit to 8-7 with a right wing triple.
 
Trailing Valpo 17-9 at the 12:47 mark of the first half, Drake caught a break when Joe Hedstrom was called for a technical. Penn buried both free throw attempts and Okay Djamgouz drained a left corner triple to bring the Bulldogs within 17-14.
 
Valparaiso clamped down on defense as Maximus Nelson connected from long distance boosting the home team's lead to 31-23. The Bulldogs clawed back into the game at the free throw line to shrink the margin to 31-29 before Valpo took a 35-31 advantage into halftime.
 
Behind 45-38 with 12:51 to play in the second half, Darnell Brodie was given a technical foul and Joe Hedstrom swished two free throws.
 
After Ben Krikke converted a one-handed slam dunk in transition, Nate Ferguson earned three points the hard way at the left block with Drake trailing 49-42 entering the under-12 media timeout.
 
The Valpo lead crept back to double digits with 8:54 remaining when Krikke hit a 15-footer right of the free throw line but the 56-46 lead evaporated with Roman Penn draining a left side 3-pointer to draw the visitors within one possession again (57-54) with 7:15 left.
 
Drake trailed by three points, 66-63 with only 25.8 seconds still ticking in regulation when DeVries was fouled beyond the 3-point line. The sophomore calmly drilled all three foul shots to knot the game. Charges assessed to both teams on consecutive possessions helped push the game to overtime, all even at 66 points apiece.
 
D.J. Wilkins stayed persistent throughout the night and after two offensive rebounds, the ball was kicked back out to Wilkins for a game-tying trifecta (69-69) with 2:49 to play in the first overtime.
 
Krikke fouled out with 27 points as 1:59 remained in overtime No. 1. DeVries posted up inside and converted the basket through contact for a 72-71 edge with under a minute left for Drake's first lead of the game. He converted the and-1 free throw, but Kobe King tied the game at 73-all on a 15-footer with 41.3 seconds remaining. The deadlock held to force another overtime period.
 
Drake entered double overtime for the second game in a row. The Bulldogs were aggressive on both sides of the ball in the second OT. Sturtz muscled his way inside for three points the old-fashioned way and a 78-76 advantage. After a contested jumpshot fell in for the Beacons to even the score again, DeVries sank a crucial 3-pointer from the left wing to hand the Bulldogs an 81-78 lead.
 
"We made big plays when we needed to," Tucker DeVries said. "Those are the moments you live for, making big shots in big games and tonight it paid off. We definitely didn't play our best basketball in the first half, but we found a way to win."

Up 84-82, Penn was fouled with 10.7 seconds left. The Calumet City, Ill., native played with four fouls during both overtime periods. After Penn split at the free throw line, Nick Edwards tossed up a deep trey for the Beacons that clanked off the right side of the backboard to clinch another marathon victory.

Drake continues the road swing at Murray State on Tuesday, Feb. 7 with a 7 p.m. tip-off.

TEAM NOTES
•Drake, earning its fifth straight victory, improved to 19-6 overall, while maintaining a share of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 10-4 record.
•The Bulldogs won their fourth straight road game, while improving their record on the road to 4-5.
•Darian DeVries moved into sole possession of second place on the Drake career coaching victory list with 114 wins, passing E.O. Williams (1932-44) who had 113 victories.
•Drake, playing its second straight double-overtime game, is 3-1 in overtime games this season and 11-4 under the DeVries coaching era.
•The last time Drake played two double-overtime games in a season occurred during Darian DeVries first year as Drake coach in 2018-19 with the Bulldogs beating San Diego, 110-103, Dec. 23, 2018, to win the Las Vegas Invitational before falling at Evansville, 82-77, Jan. 2, 2019.  
•DeVries has a 3-1 coaching record in double overtime games.
•Drake made 10 three-point baskets, improving to 6-0 this season when making 10 or more treys.
•Drake grabbed its first lead of the game with 58.6 seconds in the first overtime on three-point play by Tucker DeVries, which gave the Bulldogs a 73-71 lead.
•Drake moved to 9-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points and 50-1 during the DeVries coaching era.
•Drake's bench scored 18 points, improving its record 8-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference games whenever the reserves score 10 or more points.
•Drake, which trailed 35-31 at halftime, improved to 6-3 this season in overcoming a halftime deficit including 26-33 under coach Darrian DeVries.
•Drake outrebounded Valparaiso, 44-38, pushing its record to 15-1 when outrebounding opponents this season, including an 87-14 record during the DeVries coaching era.
•Drake moved to 6-2 in games played on Saturday this season and 27-18 during the DeVries coaching era.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Sophomore forward Tucker DeVries, collecting his first double-double of the season (second of career), scored a career-high 32 points and career-tying 11 rebounds.
•It marked DeVries 13th 20-plus scoring game (18th of his career). 
•DeVries made five three-point baskets, marking the 12th time he has made three or more treys in a game (24th time in career).
•Graduate guard Roman Penn enjoyed his second double-double of season (fourth of career) with 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. 
•It marked Penn's second 20-plus scoring game of the season and 8th of his career.
•Graduate guard D.J. Wilkins, ranked No. 8 on the Drake career scoring list, scored eight points to push his career totals to 1,482 points.
•Penn dished out a team-high six assists pushing his school record career total to 558 which also ranks No. 11 on the career MVC list.
•Graduate swingman Garrett Sturtz grabbed four rebounds pushing his school record rebounding total to 875 boards.
•Wilkins made two three-point baskets to push his school career three-point baskets total to 282.
•Penn extended his consecutive free throw streak to 15 straight, sinking his seven free throws before missing his final attempt with 10 seconds left in the second overtime.
 
The Series
•Drake, winning its fourth straight game in the series, improved its record against Valparaiso to 10-8, including a 5-6 mark in games played in Valparaiso.