SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Drake men's basketball team battled until the end but came up on the short end of an 83-80 final score in double overtime on Wednesday night inside Great Southern Bank Arena.
 
"We gave Missouri State too many second chances," head coach Darian DeVries said. You could tell Missouri State was motivated to swing away tonight."
 
The Bears outrebounded the Bulldogs 53-42 including 22-10 on offensive rebounds that resulted in 20 second chance points.
 
"We have to do a better job on the glass," Darian DeVries said. "We certainly had our opportunities to finish the game. The guys battled, but we didn't finish rebounds off, which is something that has been a strength of ours."
 
Both teams got off to a hot offensive start with Tucker DeVries and Alston Mason exchanging trifectas for a 10-10 tie at the 17:45 mark of the first half. DeVries connected on another open three-point attempt to knot the score at 18 apiece entering the under-12 media timeout. 
 
A missed wing triple that was snagged for a putback by Darnell Brodie for a 23-20 edge with 9:45 left in the first half.
 
Missouri State (11-9, 3-6 in Missouri Valley Conference play) tied the game at 23 before the Bulldogs ventured on a 16-0 run stretching from 9:00 to 2:16 on the game clock, capped off by DeVries runner.
 
After the Bears drained back-to-back three-pointers, DeVries hit his third trey of the first half, a deep jump shot from the overstretched Bear logo. Drake (16-4, 7-2) commanded a 42-29 halftime advantage.
 
The Bears opened the second half with an 8-2 spurt trimming the deficit to 44-37 while Darian DeVries spent a timeout with 17:11 on the second half clock. The home team clawed back within one possession (46-43) after a fastbreak layup by Donovan Clay created by a Nick Kramer steal with 14:06 to play in regulation.
 
Conor Enright cut to the basket and converted a layup after a nice bounce pass from Atin Wright for a 53-49 Drake edge at the 8:12 mark of the second half.
DeVries teed up an alley-oop pass to Nate Ferguson for a dunk with 5:40 to go in regulation as the Bulldogs controlled a 59-51 lead.
 
Missouri State did not surrender, getting within a basket trailing 65-63 with 28.3 seconds still ticking and shot clock turned off. Mason decided to drive to the basket and missed a layup that was pulled down by Kevin Overton. Atin Wright missed the front-end of the one-and-bonus with 16 seconds to go while the Bears looked for a clutch shot and got it with only 1.0 second remaining on a short baseline jumper from Kramer to even the score, 65-65, and send the contest to overtime. The Bulldogs and Bears went to OT for the third time in the last five series meetings.
 
Down 71-69, Brodie took the inside feed and scored the equalizer. The Bulldogs got possession with 14.4 seconds to go in a tied ballgame, but Enright's runner was off the mark as the game soldiered on to double overtime. 
 
Mason and Wright traded baskets as the final minute of the second overtime loomed with the Bears ahead 80-79. Cesare Edwards delivered 12 points off the bench including a bucket that put the Bears up 82-79 followed by an Overton miss from the left wing and a Mason free throw for a two-possession deficit (83-79) left. Mason finished with a game-high 36 points.
 
Following a Brodie free throw and a missed free throw by Kramer, DeVries had the ball in his hands with one second left and heaved a three-quarters court shot that fell short in an 83-80 road loss.
 
"League play is relentless," Darian DeVries said. "We have to learn from it. We have an intense in-state rivalry coming up. We have to be laser-sharp in our preparation. I don't like learning from losing, but we need to pick out a few things. We win together and lose together."
 
The Bulldogs will return home to the Knapp Center on Saturday, Jan. 27 when the rival UNI Panthers visit for a 5 p.m. tip-off. Limited general admission seating is available on draketix.com/mbb.
 
TEAM NOTES
•Drake lost its second Missouri Valley Conference game of the season, now owning a 7-2 league mark.
•The Bulldogs are now 62-2 in games they have scored 80 points or more. Both of those games have gone to overtime.
•Drake's four-game win streak was snapped.
•Drake dropped to 3-3 on the road this season.
•Drake scored its fewest points in a half this season (23 points in the second half).
•Drake is 0-2 in overtime this season and 11-6 during the DeVries coaching era
•The Bulldogs played their first double OT game since Feb. 4, 2023, an 85-82 win at Valparaiso.
•Drake, which owned a 42-29 halftime lead, lost its first game of the season (13-1) when leading at halftime.
•The Bulldogs are now 0-2 this season in games decided by three points or less.
•Drake's 16-0 run in the first half was its 17^th double figures scoring run of the season.
•The Bulldogs lost their first game played on a Wednesday this season (5-1). 
•Drake is 7-1 all-time (3-1 this season) when wearing its alternate gray uniforms.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Darnell Brodie has scored 18 points in back-to-back games. Brodie collected nine rebounds and a season-high three steals.
•Brodie is three points away from 1,000 in his collegiate career.
•Junior wing Tucker DeVries notched the 19th double-digit scoring game of the season and 80th of his career with 18 points, all scored in the first half.
•DeVries notched the third double-double of his career and second this season.
•Conor Enright matched his career-high of six assists. 
 
THE SERIES
•Missouri State leads the all-time series, 49-23. Three of the last five meetings have gone to overtime. Drake has a 1-2 record in those contests.
•Drake has lost three consecutive games in Springfield, Mo., since Jan. 27, 2021