CHICAGO, Ill. – The Drake men's basketball was trailing 71-63 with only nine minutes remaining in the second half before battling back and winning a triple overtime instant classic over UIC, 107-105 inside Credit Union 1 Arena on Wednesday evening.
 
Tucker DeVries led all scorers with a career-high 39 points while also recording career-best marks of 13 rebounds and seven assists. Kevin Overton helped Drake down the stretch with 18 points and six rebounds. Colby Garland reset his career-high in points with 14 while dishing out four assists.
 
"Both teams made a lot of big plays," head coach Darian DeVries said. "We had a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys. It was a resilient effort. I give UIC a lot of credit. It could be easy for them to fold at this point of the season, but they continue to fight and play at a high level."
 
UIC created separation halfway through the first half, but Tucker DeVries leaned into a baseline jumper to limit the deficit to 30-26 with seven minutes left before halftime. Three minutes later, CJ Jones lobbed the ball to Cameron Fens for an alley oop dunk and 40-31 advantage.
 
A deep DeVries 3-pointer brought his total to 17 points by halftime as the Bulldogs trailed 44-38.
 
Colby Garland hit a pull-up 15-foot jump shot to put Drake in front 55-54 at the 14:15 mark of the second half. The Flames responded with a 9-0 run heading into the Under-12 media timeout.
 
UIC head coach Luke Yaklich was forced to spend a timeout after DeVries nailed another long trey thanks a between the legs pass from Darnell Brodie to bring the Bulldogs back within two possessions, 71-67 with 6:25 to play in regulation.
 
In foul trouble, Conor Enright buried a wing triple to provide the visitors from Des Moines with a 77-76 edge as 2:57 read on the game clock.
 
With only 15.8 seconds remaining, Drake led 82-81 as Kevin Overton approached the free throw line and split. Jones' runner in the lane got the shooter's roll for an 83-83 tie. The Bulldogs had five seconds to work with a game-winning play and Wright's trifecta fell short forcing the contest to overtime.
 
Trailing 91-88 with 34.6 seconds to play in the first overtime, DeVries contributed a four-point swing all by himself capped off by when he missed his second free throw attempt and made his putback while being fouled to put Drake up 92-91 in the final 30 seconds. A split charity stripe opportunity for UIC deadlocked the score and forced double overtime.
 
The Bulldogs began the second overtime period with a 6-0 run following Lemont, Ill., native Nate Ferguson's old-fashioned 3-point play in the paint with 3:09 to go in the double OT. The Flames did not go down quietly and forced triple overtime with an 8-2 run over the final three minutes of the second overtime stanza.
 
All knotted at 100 points apiece, Drake once again got off on an immediate 6-0 run to start the extra period. Just like the entire game, the Flames would not be put out. Filip Skobalj had a look to tie the game yet again, but it was off the mark as the Bulldogs survived a marathon slugfest in the Windy City, 107-105.
 
"It was a great team win," Tucker DeVries said. "We kept battling and stuck with it. We kept saying 'just dig in a little bit more'.
 
Tobi Okani was efficient on Senior Night with a team-high 31 points. Jones turned in a double-double of 16 points and 14 assists while Isaiah Rivera also put together a double-double (19 points, 12 rebounds).

Drake will welcome Bradley to the Knapp Center on Senior Day to close out the regular season March 3 at 2:30 p.m.

Team Notes

• With the victory. Drake secured the No. 2 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, improving its MVC league record to 15-4 entering the regular season finale at home against Bradley Sunday.
• This marked the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons the Bulldogs have won 15 conference games.
• Drake improved its overall record to 24-6, marking the fourth straight season the bulldogs have won at least 24 games in a season.
• Drake is now 2-2 in overtime games this season and 13-6 during the Darian DeVries era.
• The Bulldogs have played back-to-back games that have gone to overtime against UIC at Credit Union 1 Arena.
• There were 12 lead changes and eight ties in the game
• Drake made 10 three-point baskets, improving its record to 13-0 this season when making 10 or more three-point baskets in a game.
• Drake outrebounded UIC, 50-46, improving to 15-1 when outrebounding its opponents.
• The Bulldogs moved to 13-1 this season when scoring 80 or more points and 87-2 during the Darien DeVries coaching era at Drake.
• Drake is 6-0 this season in games immediately following a loss.
• The last time Drake men's basketball played a triple overtime game was Jan. 28, 2012 in a 93-86 win over Wichita State.
• Drake is now 6-5 on the road this season.
• The Bulldogs are 9-1 this season when playing on Wednesdays.
• Darian DeVries coached his 200^th career game at Drake.
• Drake finished the month of February with a 6-2 record.
• The Bulldogs moved to 4-5 this season when trailing at halftime.

 
Individual Notes

• Junior Tucker DeVries scored a career-high 39 points - which ranks in a tie for No. 11 on the Drake single-game scoring list.
• It also is the most points scored by a Missouri Valley Conference player this season with the previous high 38 by Xavier Johnson of Southern Illinois against James Madison.
• 12 of DeVries' 17 games of 20-plus scoring have occurred in conference play.
• DeVries also grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds to earn his fifth double-double this season and sixth of his career.
• DeVries tied a career-high with seven assists.
• DeVries made five three-point baskets, moving into No. 5 on the Drake career three-point basket made list at 238, passing Ben Simons who made 234 from 2009-2012.
• It marked the 16th time this season (42nd time in career) that DeVries has made three or more three-point baskets in a game.
• It also marked the fifth time this season DeVries has made five or more three-point baskets in a game with the Bulldogs winning every time that feat occurred.
• DeVries has scored 622 points this season which ranks No. 6 on the Drake single-season scoring list.
• Freshman Kevin Overton chipped in with 18 points.
• Colby Garland scored a career-high 14 points
• Darnell Brodie and Atin Wrght added 10 points apiece.

The Series

• Drake leads the all-time series, 10-2.
• Drake extended its winning streak versus UIC to five games.
• Darian DeVries is now 3-0 head-to-head against UIC.