DES MOINES, Iowa – Darnell Brodie's dominating play inside and some steady free throw shooting carried the Drake men's basketball team to its 17^th home victory, 81-70 over a feisty Valparaiso team at the Knapp Center on Wednesday night. 

Brodie led the Bulldogs (18-4, 9-2 Missouri Valley Conference) with 19 points and pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds, the most by a Valley player this season. It was the 11^th career double-double and fourth this season for the big guy, who made 7-of-8 shots and scored 13 points in the final 9 minutes to help break the game open. 

"Darnell (Brodie) was really good," head coach Darian DeVries said. "It's such a big advantage for us when he dominates the glass like that. Valpo is a good offensive rebounding team. We got 12 offensive rebounds, which was great, and I would love to see that continue." 

Tucker DeVries added 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals and Atin Wright scored 14 with four 3-pointers. Kevin Overton contributed 12 points and Carlos Rosario matched his career high with 10 points, including eight during a 75-second stretch in the second half after Valpo (6-16, 2-8) had sliced a 15-point lead to seven. 

Brodie passed Jonathon Cox for No. 3 on Drake's career rebounding list, running his total to 831. DeVries passed Lynnrick Rogers for eighth on the career scoring list and now has 1,559 points. 

Drake remained a game behind league-leading Indiana State heading into a huge game with the Sycamores at Terre Haute on Saturday. The Bulldogs beat Valpo for the sixth straight time and eighth time in the last nine meetings. 

Valparaiso, one of the nation's most inexperienced teams, started three freshmen. A junior, Isaiah Stafford, led the Beacons with a career-high 32 points.  

Drake struggled through some sloppy play early and at one point in the first half, the Bulldogs had as many turnovers (6) as field goals. But they had made all 10 of their free throws and never trailed in the game, though it took a while to shake the Beacons. 

The Bulldogs led just 23-21 when Brodie scored inside to start an 11-0 run – the team's 20^th double-figure spurt of the season – to go up 34-21. Stafford's 3-pointer drew Valpo to 38-30 before DeVries buried a deep 3 for a 41-30 halftime lead. 

Overton was credited with a basket on a ball that Valpo's Cooper Schwieger tipped in and DeVries scored on an inbounds play to stretch the lead to 45-30 at the start of the second half. But Valparaiso clawed back again, running off eight straight points to draw to 45-38. 

That's when Rosario took over. He got inside for a layup, knocked down a trey from the left corner, then drove for a bucket that he turned into a three-point play. It was 53-38 and The Beacons got the lead below double figures only once after that, at 56-47 on Schwieger's 3-pointer. 

"I thought Carlos did a really nice job in the second half," Darian DeVries said. "It's great to get those contributions from guys who are ready when their number is called." 

DeVries answered with three free throws after being fouled on a shot from deep and the Bulldogs then started getting the ball to Brodie near the basket. He responded with a bucket inside, a three-point play on a drive-and dish-from Wright, a power move for a reverse layup, yet another basket inside and a jump hook for a 79-62 lead with 2:25 left. That was enough of a cushion for the Bulldogs to easily hold on. 

Drake finished with a 41-24 rebounding advantage and did not give up an offensive rebound, resulting in a 10-0 edge in second-chance points. The Bulldogs shot just 38 percent but made 19 of their 21 free throws, with DeVries going 7-for-7. 

Drake and Indiana State will tip off at 5 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2. The Bulldogs beat the Sycamores 89-78 at the Knapp Center on Jan. 10.  

Team Notes 
•Drake improved to 18-4, including a 9-2 record in the Missouri Valley Conference maintaining second place in the league.
•Drake extended its home winning streak to 17 games, including a 12-0 mark in the Knapp Center this season. 
•All of Drake's nine league victories have been by double figures. 
•The Bulldogs moved to 9-1 this season (63-2 during Darian DeVries coaching era) when scoring 80 or more points. 
•Drake outrebounded Valparaiso, 48-30, moving to 11-1 when outrebounding opponents this season. 
Drake enjoyed a 41-30 halftime lead, improving to 14-1 when leading at intermission.  
•This also marked Drake's ninth double-digit halftime lead this season. 
•The 48 rebounds were Drake's second highest this season and most in any of its 11 MVC games this season. 
•Drake's 41 points in the first half marked the ninth time the Bulldogs scored 40-plus points in a first half this season. 
•Owning a 23-21 lead, Drake went on an 11-0 run to grab a 34-21 advantage. It marked Drake's MVC-high 20th double-digit scoring run of the season. 
 
Individual Notes 
•Center Darnell Brodie collected his fourth double-double of the season (11th in career) with a game-high 19 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. 
•The 18 rebounds were the most by any player in the MVC this season. 
•Forward Tucker DeVries added 17 points, while moving into No. 8 on the Drake career scoring list at 1,559 points passing Lynnrick Rogers who scored 1,546 points from 1993-97. 
•Guard Atin Wright tallied 14 points, making a team-high four three-point baskets, marking the sixth time this season he has made three or more treys in a game 
•Freshman guard Kevin Overton scored 12 points, surpassing his previous two-game combined output of 10 points. 
•Darnell Brodie moved into No. 3 on the Drake career rebounding list with 831 rebounds, passing Jonathon Cox, who grabbed 817 from 2005-09. 
•DeVries made all seven free throws, extending his consecutive free throw made string to 14 straight. 
•Forward Carlos Rosario came off the bench contributing 10 points— his most at Drake. He scored eight straight points during a 75-second span giving Drake a 53-38 lead.  
•Rosario had scored eight points in his combined previous seven games entering tonight. 
 
The Series 
•The Bulldogs, earning their sixth straight win over Valparaiso, improved its series record against the Beacons to 12-8, including a 5-1 mark in Des Moines 
•Drake has won eight of its last nine games against Valparaiso.