DES MOINES, Iowa – The best long-range shooting of the season carried the Drake men's basketball team to a 95-72 victory over Murray State at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon and back into a tie for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Bulldogs (22-5, 13-3 MVC) knocked down a season-high 17 3-pointers and shot 60.7 percent overall in winning its 19^th straight home game and fifth straight over Murray State. Six Drake players made at least one 3 as the Bulldogs finished 17-for-30 from deep – 56.7 percent. That was one short of the season high for 3s in a Valley game this season.

"It's critical to be playing your best now," head coach Darian DeVries said. "We tried to keep our legs fresh and our minds fresh over the last couple of days. I feel like the last few years that we've done a pretty good job in February of trying to put ourselves in the best position."

Freshman Kevin Overton led the Bulldogs' balanced scoring with a season-best 23 points in the third annual Suit Up Against Pediatric Cancer game. Overton was efficient throughout, making 8-of-11 shots and going 5-for-8 from distance to match his season high for 3-pointers.

Tucker DeVries also produced an efficient line with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal that he turned into a dunk. Scoreless for the game's first 11 minutes, DeVries went 4-for-6 from beyond the arc and passed Red Murrell for third place on the school's career scoring list, running his total to 1,673 points.

Atin Wright finished with four 3-pointers and 12 points, while Conor Enright scored 10 with one trey. Enright also handed six assists, three times driving into the lane and finding teammates for open 3-point shots.

Hamstrung by foul trouble, Darnell Brodie played only 14 minutes but came up with seven points – including the team's first five of the game – and eight rebounds. Nate Ferguson was solid in relief of Brodie, getting eight points and pulling down six rebounds, and Eric Northweather delighted the crowd of 4,329 with an eight-point flurry – his season high -- in the final 2 ½ minutes.

Northweather scored on a layup off an inbounds play, then knocked down two 3-pointers – his first points since hitting a 3 at Belmont on Jan. 7.

Quincy Anderson led Murray State (11-16, 8-8) with 22 points and JaCobi Wood scored 16. The Racers shot 50 percent and made 15-of-22 free throws. It just wasn't good enough to keep up with Drake's torrid pace.

The 95 points were two short of Drake's season high and the most Murray State has given up this season. The Racers came in allowing 68 a game.

"I thought we got back to better player movement and ball movement today," Darian DeVries said. "I's terrific when you make 17 threes."

Brodie sank a free throw, dropped in a hook shot and made a layup on a shovel pass from Wright to get the Bulldogs started. Overton followed with a putback for a 7-2 lead and forcing an early timeout by Murray State coach Steve Prohm.

The Racers found their footing and pulled into a 12-10 lead on Anderson's mid-range jumper, but the Bulldogs responded quickly. Colby Garland fed Overton for a bucket inside and Kyron Gibson hit a 3 for a 15-12 lead and Drake never trailed again.

The Bulldogs knocked down three straight 3s – two by Wright and the other by DeVries – in stretching the lead to 26-17. That was just a sign of things to come.
With Drake leading 29-23, Enright drove into the lane and kicked the ball out to Wright for a 3 from the right corner, triggering a 19-3 run that broke it open. The Bulldogs finished that burst with 14 straight points that included a four-point play from DeVries – fouled making a 3 and the ensuing free throw – and an old-fashioned three-point play by Tucker on a strong drive to the hoop.

Overton finished the run with a corner trey and two free throws for a 48-26 lead before a late Murray State 3 trimmed the margin to 48-29 at halftime. The Bulldogs finished the opening half 9-for-15 from distance and shooting 59.3 percent overall.

Murray State never got closer than 16 points in the second half. After Drake built the lead to 23, the Racers ran off five straight points to draw to 70-52. DeVries put an end to that run with an eight-point burst of his own – a fadeaway from the left side, a 3 from the top of the key and a dunk after stealing the ball.

That made it 77-52 and the Bulldogs went on to lead by as many as 29 before coach Darian DeVries pulled his regulars.

"We have a huge game on Wednesday," Darian DeVries said. "Bring a friend, neighbor or whoever to the game because it is a big game for us against a Belmont team that is really good."

Indiana State's back-to-back losses to Illinois State and Southern Illinois enabled the Bulldogs to tie with the Sycamores atop the league. Drake will return to action on Wednesday against Belmont in the Knapp Center at 7 p.m.

Team Notes

• Winning its fourth consecutive game, Drake improved its conference record to 13-3 to move into a tie for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings.
• Drake's 19-game home winning streak is tie for longest active home winning streak in NCAA Division I men's basketball.
• Drake made a season-high 17 3-point baskets, which is tied for second most in program history during a single game.
• Today marked the 11^th time this season that Drake made 10 or more 3-pointers in a game.
• The Bulldogs dished out 22 assists to match their season-high (22 vs. Evansville on Jan. 20).
• Drake put together its 20^th double-figure scoring run of the season after going on a 14-0 spurt late in the first half.
• The Bulldogs are 65-2 during the Darian DeVries era when scoring 80 points or more in a game (65-0 in games decided during regulation).
• 95 points are the second most points scored this season by Drake and the most allowed this season by Murray State.
• Drake finished 34-56 from the field (60.7 percent) to mark the second time this season shooting over 60.0 percent.
• The Bulldogs have shot over 50.0 percent from the field 13 times this season with a 12-1 record in those occurrences.

Individual Notes

• Kevin Overton scored a career-high 23 points on 8-11 shooting from the field.
• Overton matched his career highs of eight field goals and five 3-point field goals.
• Overton notched his third career 20-plus point performance and his first since Dec. 6 against Saint Louis.
• Tucker DeVries concluded the game with 22 points (14^th 20-plus scoring output this season and 35^th of his career), seven rebounds and three assists.
• DeVries surpassed Melvin Mathis (1982-1986) and Red Murrell (1955-58) for third on Drake's all-time scoring list and now has amassed 1,673 points.
• Overton (5-8), DeVries (4-7) and Atin Wright (4-7) all made four or more shots from behind the arc.
• After adding 12 points tonight, Wright has scored in double digits in five of the last six games.
• Wright finished with four assists and has dished out four or more assists in a game four times this year.
• Conor Enright distributed a game-high six assists for his fourth career five-plus assist game of the season and sixth of his career.
• Enright scored 10 points to mark the 10^th time in his career that he scored double figures.
• Colby Garland has recorded at least four assists in seven games this season.

The Series

• Having won the last five meetings, Drake leads the all-time series 5-2.
• Darian DeVries improved to 5-0 against Murray State.
• The Bulldogs are 2-0 all-time against the Racers in Des Moines.