ST. LOUIS -- The Drake men's basketball team used a 10-0 run midway through the second half en route to a 74-62 victory past No. 7 seed Murray State in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Friday night (March 3) at the Enterprise Center.

Drake advanced to the semifinal round Saturday for the fifth straight year under head coach Darian DeVries where it will meet the winner of Friday's final game between Missouri State and Southern Illinois. It also marked the 30th time in 33 years the No. 2 seed advanced to the semifinal round.

Larry Bird Trophy recipient Tucker DeVries, who had a career-high 32 points in Drake's last game against Murray State, led the Bulldogs with 27 points, including 14 in the second half. 

Drake improved its record to 25-7, marking the school's third consecutive 25-win season and fifth in school history (28-5, 2007-08; 26-5, 1968-69 and 2020-21; 25-11, 2021-22; 25-7 this season.

Graduate guard Roman Penn collected 16 points and 10 assists, marking his third double-double this season (2 in points-assists, 1 in points-rebounds). He also became the ninth player in MVC history to reach 600 career assists. Penn was extremely efficient, committing just one turnover.

Drake shot 61.5 percent (16-26) in the second half, using a 10-0 run midway through the second half to turn a 52-47 lead into a 62-47 advantage with 8:43 left.
 
"We got the pace going in the second half and we were able to get downhill," head coach Darian DeVries said. "We highlighted and circled the number of first half turnovers. I thought our guys did a great job in the second half. We got the Murray State defense spread out with great ball movement."

Murray State fell for the third time this year to Drake, while closing the season with a 17-15. They finished their inaugural MVC Tournament with a 1-1 record.

Drake improved to 10-0 this season when shooting over 50 percent from the floor, hitting 53.8 percent (28-52) against the Racers.

After knocking down 10 3-pointers Thursday night, the Racers only hit three triples (3-for-12), setting a season low in attempted threes. Junior guard Rob Perry finished with 22 points, including 14 in the first half, after scoring a total of 16 combined in his previous two outings against Drake. He also added a game-high 10 rebounds to earn his second double-double of the season.
 
Junior forward Jamari Smith had 12 points, while junior forward DJ Burns tied a career-high with six assists. 

DeVries made three free throws with 0.7 seconds left to give Drake a 33-31 halftime lead.
 
TEAM NOTES
• The No. 2-seeded Bulldogs will advance to the MVC Tournament semifinal round for the fifth straight year under Coach Darian DeVries with the victory over No. 7-seeded Murray State.
• Drake improves its record to 25-7, marking the school's third consecutive 25-win season and fifth in school history (28-5, 2007-08; 26-5, 1968-69 and 2020-21; 25-11, 2021-22; 25-7 this season,
• After scoring two points last Sunday at Bradley, Drake's bench tallied 10 points improving its record to 13-0 against MVC teams when it scores 10 or more points.
• Drake improved to 10-0 this season when shooting over 50 percent from the floor, hitting 53.8 percent (28-52) against the Racers.
• The Bulldogs improved to 19-3 when leading at half.
• Drake totaled 18 assists, including Penn's team high of 10, it was the team's fourth highest total this season and second highest against an MVC opponent this year.
• Drake committed nine turnovers (only two in the second half), the 13th time this year they have been under double figures in turnovers.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Tucker DeVries, who had a career-high 32 points in Drake's last game against Murray State, led the Bulldogs with 27 points, including 14 in the second half. He made three three-point baskets, marking the 14th time he has made three or more treys in a game. He grabbed five rebounds and tied a season high with two steals.
• DeVries has 82 three-point baskets this season which ties him for No. 4 on the Drake single-season list with Brady Ellingson (2018-19). He also ranks No. 6 on the school single-season scoring list with 594.
• Graduate guard Roman Penn collected 16 points and 10 assists, marking his third double-double this season (2 in pts-assists, 1 in pts-rebounds). He also became the ninth player in MVC history to reach 600 career assists.
• Penn was extremely efficient, committing just one turnover as the Bulldogs' point guard.
• Graduate guard D.J. Wilkins scored six points, while moving into No. 7 on the school career scoring list at 1,550 points, surpassing Lynnrick Rogers who scored 1,546 points from 1993-97.
• Wilkins also increased his school career record three-point baskets total to 302.
 
THE SERIES
• Drake moves to 4-2 all-time against Murray State, including a 3-0 sweep this season.