ST. LOUIS – The No. 2 seeded Drake men's basketball team exploded for two decisive scoring runs in both halves to race past No. 3 seed Southern Illinois, 65-52, in the semifinal round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center on Saturday, March 4.
"We knew this was going to be a tough game," head coach Darian DeVries said. "Southern Illinois has had a great year and they are well-coached. It was one of those games where you knew everything on the offensive end was going to be challenged."
Drake, making its third straight trip to the championship, will face top-seeded Bradley in a 1 p.m. tip-off, which will be televised on CBS. It will mark the 18th time that the MVC Tournament championship will feature the top two seeds
Drake improved its record to 26-7, marking the school's fourth 26-win season in school history (28-5, 2007-08; 26-5, 1968-69 and 2020-21) and the second with head coach Darian DeVries. Southern Illinois, which had a three-game winning streak snapped, slipped to 23-10.
Drake senior forward Darnell Brodie enjoyed his best tournament game, scoring 10 points and hauling in a career-high 17 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season, including his second straight against the Salukis.
One game after registering a points-assists double-double, graduate point guard Roman Penn, a first-team All-MVC performer, collected 16 points and five assists for the Bulldogs. He moved into No. 7 on the MVC career assists list, passing Jake Odum from Indiana State (2010-14, 603). He also committed just one turnover for the second straight MVC tournament game.
Senior guard Lance Jones led Southern Illinois with 18 points, including 10 in the second half.
Trailing 15-13 with 10:42 left, Tucker DeVries scored eight points, including back-to-back 3-point baskets, to trigger a 17-0 run in a 5:46 span to give Drake a 30-15 lead. Drake made six of seven shots during the surge including four three-point baskets.
Behind 39-23 at halftime, Southern Illinois embarked on a 13-2 run to open the second half pulling within 41-36 with six points from Jones and four from Clarence Rupert. SIU guard Xaiver Johnson picked up his fourth foul with 13:42 left, going to the bench with Salukis trailing 43-40.
Drake responded with a 15-2 run with five points coming from reserves to push the lead to 58-42 following a basket from Garrett Sturtz.
"I thought our guys did a nice job to not panic and weathered the storm a bit," Darian DeVries said. "We pushed it back up to double digits and held on from there."
DeVries, the MVC Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year, scored 12 points to move into No. 5 on the Drake single-season scoring list at 606 points, passing former All-American Willie McCarter who scored 603 in 1967-68. He also made two three-point baskets to push his season total to 84 which ranks No. 5 on school single season three-point basket list.
Drake graduate guard Garrett Sturtz contributed 12 points, his 15th game this year in double figures, but the school's career rebounding leader did not grab a rebound in a game for the first time this season.
Senior forward Marcus Domask, a first-team All-MVC performer for the Salukis, scored just seven points. He did, however, move up to No. 19 on the all-time Saluki rebound list at 564 with his team-high eight boards. Domask, who averaged 17 ppg, scored a total of 12 points in his final two outings against Drake.
TEAM NOTES
• This marks Drake's fourth trip to MVC Tournament championship (2008, 2021, 2022, 2023), including the third straight year under coach Darian DeVries.
• Drake moved to 4-3 against the Salukis in the MVC Tournament.
• Drake's bench tallied 12 points improving its record to 14-0 against MVC teams when it scores 10 or more points.
• The Bulldogs improved to 20-3 when leading at half.
• Drake committed just eight turnovers, the 14th time this year they have been under double figures in turnovers.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
• Senior forward Darnell Brodie enjoyed his best tournament game, scoring 10 points and hauling in a career-high 17 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
• Brodie bettered his previous high of 15 rebounds against Missouri State in 2021. It was Brodie seventh game with at least 10 rebounds this year. Brodie also contributed a pair of blocks.
• One game after registering a points-assists double-double, graduate point guard Roman Penn collected 16 points and five assists. He has notched double figures in 13 consecutive games.
• Penn moved into No. 7 on the MVC career assists list, passing Jake Odum from Indiana State (2010-14, 603). He also committed just one turnover for the second straight MVC tournament game.
• Tucker DeVries scored 12 points to move into No. 5 on the Drake single-season scoring list at 606 points, passing former All-American Willie McCarter who scored 603 in 1967-68. He also made two 3-point baskets to push his season total to 84 which ranks No. 5 on school single season 3-point basket list.
• Garrett Sturtz contributed 12 points, his 15th game this year in double figures.
THE SERIES
• Drake has won seven of its last eight games against Southern Illinois dating back to 2021.
• SIU leads the all-time series, 61-43.
