CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Drake men's basketball team pulled away at the end of the first half and did not look back in a 76-58 victory over Southern Illinois at the Banterra Center on Saturday night.

"I thought we had great execution on the offensive end taking advantage of some mismatches," head coach Darian DeVries said. "Defensively, we did an unbelievable job on Xavier Johnson. Our defense was really connected tonight, stringing together some stops. I liked the overall performance and we were able to extend the lead in the second half. This was a really good road win." 

DeVries sank a turnaround jumper from the baseline for an 11-5 lead a little over five minutes into the contest.

Colby Garland pulled up from 15 feet away and connected for a 23-18 edge with 7:34 remaining in the first half.

DeVries helped create some separation before halftime with a layup and step-back wing triple as all of a sudden, the Bulldogs were ahead 34-23. Drake (14-3, 5-1 in Missouri Valley Conference) led by a double-digit margin of 36-25 at the halftime break.

The Bulldog advantage extended to 20 points (51-31) following a mid-range jumper by Atin Wright at the 16:05 mark of the second half.

Drake kept tacking on as Kevin Overton got going in the second half, his slicing layup put the visitors ahead 57-34 with 13:48 to play.

SIU (12-5, 4-2) began to claw back trimming the deficit to 64-52 after a steal and layup on the other end by Xavier Johnson with 6:17 remaining. That was the closest the Salukis would come in the ballgame as a late banked-in trifecta by DeVries sealed the deal.

DeVries led all scorers with 34 points (12-20 field goal shooting) for the fifth career 30-plus scoring performance of his career. Darnell Brodie ripped down 12 boards to mark his third double-digit rebounding game this season.

"Southern Illinois had a great crowd and atmosphere for two great teams," Tucker DeVries said. "Our guys were locked in and ready for the challenge. We battled for 40 minutes which has been our theme."  

The Bulldogs will get back on the road for a visit to Illinois State on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.

TEAM NOTES
•Drake maintained a share of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference with Indiana State with a 5-1 record.
•All five of Drake's Missouri Valley Conference wins have been in double figures.
•The Bulldogs, winning their second straight game, improved their overall record to 14-3.
•Drake snapped Southern Illinois' six-game winning streak as well as a four-game home winning streak, while the Salukis suffered just their second home loss in 11 games this season.
•The 58 points were the fewest Southern Illinois has scored in a home game this season.
•Drake also ended a two-game road losing streak, while improving to 2-2 on the road.
•Drake shot 56.4 percent (31-55), while improving to 7-1 when shooting 50 percent or better in a game this season.
•Drake, which owned a 36-25 halftime lead, improved to 11-0 this season when leading at halftime.
•Drake outrebounded Southern Illinois, 35-26, improving to 7-1 this season when outrebounding opponents and 101-15 during the Darian DeVries coaching era.
•Drake committed eight turnovers improving to 9-0 this season when committing 10 or fewer turnovers in a game.
•Drake outscored Southern Illinois, 40-20, in points in the paint.
•Darian DeVries improved his career coaching record to 10-3 against Southern Illinois, including a 3-2 mark in Carbondale.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Drake junior forward Tucker DeVries enjoyed his fifth career 30-plus scoring game (third time this season) with a game-high 34 points, including 20 in the second half.
•DeVries made three three-point baskets, while collecting seven rebounds along with two steals. 
•It marked the eighth time DeVries made three or more three-point baskets in a game (33rd time in career)
•DeVries scored seven of Drake's first nine points to open the game
•DeVries has scored 1,459 points in his career— 12 points shy of tying Wayne Kreklow (1975-79) for No. 9 on the Drake school career scoring list at 1,471.
•Junior guard Atin Wright and freshman guard Kevin Overton added 10 points apiece.
•Overton had eight of Drake's first 13 points in the opening 3:22 of the second half.
•Senior Darnell Brodie collected a game-high 12 rebounds, marking his fourth straight 10-plus rebounding game against the Salukis dating back to last year.
•Colby Garland matched a career-high with three steals, while freshman guard Kevin Overton collected a career-high two steals.
 
THE SERIES
•Drake has won eight of the last nine meetings against Southern Illinois, including the last three games dating back to Jan. 3, 2021. 
•Southern Illinois leads the overall series, 61-44 including a 35-14 mark in games played in Carbondale.