NORMAL, Ill. – The Drake men's basketball team pressured Illinois State from the jump and pulled away in the second half for a 77-56 win at CEFCU Arena on Wednesday night. The 21-point victory was Drake's largest-ever margin of victory against the Redbirds in Normal, Ill.

"I really like our mentality," head coach Darian DeVries said. "We had to have tremendous focus to play the way we did, especially in the first half."

The Bulldogs (15-3, 6-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play) were able to attack the cup early for its first five baskets of the game including two layups by Kevin Overton for an early 10-5 edge after five minutes of play. It was a sign of things to come as Drake went on to outscore the Redbirds 42-18 in the paint.

After a Darnell Brodie steal, Tucker DeVries pulled up from well outside the 3-point arc and drained it to rack up 15 early points as well as a 28-16 lead with 8:27 to play in the first half. Only a couple of minutes later, Colby Garland pulled up from straightaway and buried his trifecta to force an Illinois State (8-10, 2-5) timeout at the 6:07 mark, leading 36-18. Drake led at halftime, 43-27.

The Redbirds cut the deficit to 50-40 a little over five minutes into the second half before the Bulldogs answered with an 11-0 run. Drake had crisp ball movement during the run including a stellar no-look pass into the corner by Brodie while DeVries accounted for six points in that stretch.

"That was a huge three-minute stretch of the game and it deflated them," Darian DeVries said.

DeVries wrapped the night with 25 points on 11-22 shooting from the field while dishing out four assists. Brodie's impressive passing created five assists as he turned in his second double-double of the season (11 points, 12 rebounds).

"Tucker is playing with a lot of confidence," Darian DeVries said. "Everyone is finding their roles. Our guys responded really well to Illinois State's zone and we were able to knock down some threes. They recognized it and didn't panic."

Ahead 61-40 with 11:17 left, the visitors from Des Moines kept tacking on eventually creating a 25-point cushion (71-46) when Brodie posted up inside for two with 7:42 on the clock. The Bulldogs cruised the rest of the way before the final score read 77-56.

Garland and Conor Enright both finished with nine points and three assists. Atin Wright knocked down a pair from deep while contributing 12 points and three helpers.

Drake will play host to Evansville on men's basketball Alumni Day during Des Moines' Hometown Team Weekend at 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20 with the Bulldogs once again wearing their Des Moines' Hometown Team uniforms.

TEAM NOTES
•Drake maintained a share of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference with Indiana State with a 6-1 record.
•All six of Drake's Missouri Valley Conference wins have been in double figures.
•The Bulldogs, winning their third straight game, improved their overall record to 15-3.
•Drake improved to 3-2 on the road, winning its second straight MVC road game.
•Drake shot 55.9 percent (33-59), while improving to 8-1 when shooting 50 percent or better in a game this season. It also marked the second straight game Drake shot more than 50 percent from the floor in a road game.
•Drake, which owned a 43-27 halftime lead, improved to 12-0 this season when leading at halftime.
•Drake outrebounded Illinois State, 32-28, improving to 8-1 this season when outrebounding opponents and 102-15 during the Darian DeVries coaching era.
•Drake enjoyed an 11-0 run during a 3:23 span midway through the second half expanding a 50-40 lead into a 61-40 advantage. It marked the Bulldogs' 14th double-figure scoring run of the season.
•Drake matched a season low with three turnovers improving to 10-0 this season when committing 10 or fewer turnovers in a game.
•Drake, which leads the MVC in assist/turnover ratio, had 19 assists to just three turnovers.
•This marked the second straight game Drake more than doubled its opponent in points in the paint. The Bulldogs outscored Southern Illinois, 40-20, in points in the paint last Saturday before outscoring Illinois State, 42-18, in points in the paint tonight.
•Darian DeVries improved his career coaching record to 10-3 against Illinois State, including a 3-2 mark in Normal.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Drake junior forward Tucker DeVries enjoyed his 30th career 20-plus scoring game (ninth time this season) with a game-high 25 points, including 17 in the second half.
•DeVries made three 3-point baskets, while collecting four rebounds, four assists along with one steal. 
•It marked the ninth time DeVries made three or more 3-point baskets in a game (34th time in career).
•DeVries moved into No. 9 on the Drake career scoring list with 1,484 points in his career, surpassing Wayne Kreklow (1975-79) who scored 1,471.
•DeVries has scored at least 22 points and made at least eight field goals in four of his last five games.
•Junior guard Atin Wright added 12 points and three assists, while tying a career high with a blocked shot. 
•Senior Darnell Brodie, who leads the MVC in rebounding (8.1avg.) enjoyed his second double-double of the season (ninth in career) with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. It also marked his fourth double-figure rebounding game of the season (23rd of career).
•Brodie also collected a season-high two steals, while tying a season high with five assists.
 
THE SERIES
•The 21-point win was Drake's widest victory margin ever at Illinois State, eclipsing the previous Bulldogs' high victory margin in Normal, Ill., of 80-67 on Dec. 23, 1976. It's also Drake's largest margin of victory in conference play this season.
•Drake has won 10 of the last 11 meetings against Illinois State, including the last eight games dating back to Jan. 31, 2021. 
•Illinois State leads the overall series, 61-40 including a 35-10 mark in games played in Normal.