EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Atin Wright's one-legged half court heave to beat the buzzer sent Drake men's basketball past Evansville, 78-75 at the Ford Center on Tuesday night.
 
Wright scored 21 points of his 26 points after halftime while shooting 8-11 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc in the second half.
 
"That was quite the ending and not how we envisioned it," head coach Darian DeVries said. "Winning is hard. What a shot and what a second half by Atin Wright.
He carried us on a night when we didn't have some other things going for us."
 
Both teams were a bit sluggish to start on offense, but the Bulldogs benefitted from a six-point swing resulting from an Evansville foul by Gage Bobe and dead ball technical foul committed by Kenny Strawbridge Jr. Tucker DeVries and Wright both knocked down a pair of free throws before DeVries buried a mid-range jumper for an 18-12 lead with 11:55 to go in the first half.
 
A few plays later, Colby Garland connected on a triple from straight on for a 23-15 edge. The Purple Aces answered with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 23-22 with 8:50 remaining in the opening half.
 
It was a back-and-forth battle for the rest of the first half with Yacine Toumi getting the shooter's roll on a floater in the lane for a 37-37 tie that carried into halftime.
 
The game remained tightly contested with Kevin Overton drilling a right wing trifecta to knot the game at 57 points apiece nearly halfway through the second half.
 
Atin Wright went on to score Drake's next 11 points as the Bulldogs grabbed a 68-64 advantage with 5:28 left in regulation. A trey and pair of free throws from DeVries provided a 73-66 lead for the visitors heading into the under-4 timeout.
 
Evansville did not go down quietly, still in the game only trailing by one possession, 75-72 with 18.1 seconds on the clock. Ben Humrichous was a hero for a split second for Evansville after draining a contested deep three-pointer from the left wing.
 
The Bulldogs let it play out with Enright moving it up the floor to Wright, who banked in the half court shot to give Drake the 78-75 lead. The game clock accidentally stopped with 0.6 seconds left and the ball still in the air. Upon further review by the officials, the game was declared final with Wright's heroics serving as a buzzer beater.  
 
"Conor (Enright) did a good job getting it up the floor," Atin Wright said. "I was looking for an open space and Conor saw me. I knew I didn't have a lot of time that is why I shot it off one leg."
 
Drake extended its winning streak against Evansville to 10 games and has won back-to-back road contests.
 
"Winning on the road is so difficult," Darian DeVries said. "We knew it would be a tough game and we were fortunate to come home with a win. We were able to survive. We have some much-needed days off now and get refreshed for this stretch run.
 
The Bulldogs will return home to host Murray State on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. for its third-annual Suit Up Against Pediatric Cancer game.
 
Team Notes
•Drake, earning its third straight win, improved to 21-5 overall, while moving within one game of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 12-3 record.
•Drake made a season-high 13 three-point baskets, improving to 10-0 this season when making 10 or more treys in a game. Earlier, Drake made a previous season-high 12 treys against Evansville Jan. 20 in Des Moines
•Drake improved its road record to 5-4, while earning its second straight road win.
•Drake made eight straight shots during a 7 minute and 3-second span (12:31 to 5:28) in the second half with Atin Wright making the last five baskets during that stretch.
•Drake shot 60 percent (15-25/63.6 percent) in the second half.
•Drake outrebounded Evansville, 30-29, moving to 13-1 when outrebounding opponents this season.
•Drake moved to 2-1 this season when the halftime score was tied (37-37).
•Drake improved to 5-0 when playing on Tuesday this season, including 21-5 during the Darian DeVries coaching era.
 
Individual Notes
•Junior guard Atin Wright scored a season-high 26 points, including the buzzer beating game-winning shot just beyond mid-court with 0.6 seconds.
•Wright, enjoying his seventh 20-plus scoring game this season, had 21 points in the second half making eight of 11 shots.
•Wright made four three-point baskets, marking the seventh time this season he has made three or more treys in a game.
•Junior forward Tucker DeVries collected 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season and fifth of his career. 
•DeVries moved into a tie for No. 4 with Melvin Mathis (1982-86) on the Drake career scoring list at 1,651 points with Melvin Mathis.
•Freshman Kevin Overton added 15 points, including four three-point baskets, marking the seventh game this season with 3 or more treys
•Darnell Brodie grabbed four rebounds to move into No. 2 on the Drake career rebound list at 856, passing Melvin Mathis who collected 854 boards from 1982-86.
 
The Series
•Drake, winning its 10th straight game against Evansville, improved its series record against the Purple Aces to 33-28 including an 11-17 mark in Evansville. 
•This marked Drake's fourth consecutive victory in Evansville.
•Darian DeVries improved his career coaching record to 10-1 against Evansville.