EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Drake men's basketball team earned its first Missouri Valley Conference win of the season on Sunday afternoon as it eeked out a 66-65 victory over the Evansville Purple Aces in a dramatic back-and-forth battle.
 
A slow shooting start by the Bulldogs forced Drake to try and climb out of a deficit in the early goings of the contest trailing 15-9 at the under-12 media timeout. Drake connected on just 3-of-15 attempts from the field and tallied four turnovers in the first seven minutes of action.
 
A shot clock buzzer-beating three-ball from Jaehshon Thomas ended a scoreless drought of over two minutes for Drake and pulled the Bulldogs within three, but Evansville had an immediate counter. The Purple Aces connected on back-to-back long balls of their own and forced a timeout from the Drake bench with the score at 21-12.
 
The shooting woes continued with another scoreless stretch of over three minutes for Drake, but the Bulldogs only found themselves down by five, 23-18, following Thomas burying his third three-pointer of the half with four minutes to go in the period.
 
It was with just over two and half minutes to go when the tide started to turn for the Dogs. A 9-0 burst from Drake's offense saw the Bulldogs take their first lead of the game and go into the halftime break up 29-27.
 
Braden Appelhans started the run with a nice midrange fadeaway and then Eli Shetlar rattled off five straight points of his own during that stretch. Drake's defense stepped up during the run as well forcing two turnovers and by the half's end the Bulldogs had caused the Purple Aces to commit nine turnovers.
 
Drake came out in the second half aggressive and went on an immediate 6-0 run hitting its first three shots from the field. Thomas continued his strong offensive production from the first half scoring two more buckets to push him into double figures on the day.
 
Five-straight points from freshman Griffen Goodbary displaying his inside and outside game converting a layup and splashing home a top of the key three-ball saw Drake's lead increase to double digits, 52-39, at the 11-minute mark, but Evansville quickly cut their deficit with a flurry of baskets and some turnovers from Drake.
 
A 9-0 run by the Aces trimmed the Bulldog advantage down to just three with 7:24 to go until finally a corner pocket triple from Wilguens Jr. Exacte put a stop to the building momentum for Evansville.
 
Despite the Bulldogs crashing the glass and converting a couple of second chance opportunities down the stretch, the Bulldogs clung to a 64-62 lead with just over two minutes remaining.
 
The game ultimately came down to the free throw line and there were opportunities missed from both sides. Drake missed three free throws over the final 50 seconds, but fortunately Evansville also missed three free throws over that span, which kept Drake's lead at one, 66-65.
 
Following a missed free throw attempt by Owen Larson with four seconds left, Evansville's Connor Turnbull gathered the rebound and launched a desperate heave at the buzzer that clanked off the rim and fell harmlessly to the floor.
 
"It was finally nice to be on the right side of a close game," Drake head coach Eric Henderson said. "Too many times we haven't been, but we were able to catch our breath there because we didn't make enough plays down the stretch to hold the lead that we had. At the end of the day, we did get some big defensive stops and a couple big rebounds. We didn't capitalize at the free throw line late, but give our guys credit they did battle their tails off."
 
The Bulldogs will have a little time off over the holiday break and will return to Des Moines to host Illinois State for its next game on Monday, Dec. 29. Tipoff against the Redbirds is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT with the game available to stream on ESPN+.
 
Team Notes
—Drake, which snapped a three-game losing streak, moved to 7-6 overall including a 1-1 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
—Drake survived despite missing the front end of three one and one bonus free throw situations in the final 50 seconds.
—Drake shot 45.6 percent (26-57) from the floor, including 57.7 percent (15-26) in the second half.
—Drake owned a 29-27 halftime lead, improving to 6-0 when leading at halftime this season.
—There were six lead changes and two ties in the game.
—Drake went on a 7-0 run during a 65-second spurt midway through the second half to enjoy its biggest lead of the game at 47-33 following a three-point basket by Eli Shetlar.
—Drake closed out the first half making six of its last seven shots while holding Evansville without a basket for the last 4:27 to enjoy a 29-27 halftime lead.
—Drake shot a season low 45.5 percent from the free throw line, making five of 11 free throws.
 
Player Notes
— Senior transfer guard Jaehshon Thomas led Drake with 18 points—nine each half.
—Thomas tied a career high with four three-point baskets, marking his third game with three or more treys this season.
—Transfer Wilguens Jr. Exacte added 11 points.
—Freshman reserve Griffen Goodbary added nine points — one shy of his career high — while making a career-high four free throws.
—Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Shetar scored eight points, while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.
 —Senior transfer guard Jalen Quinn did not start for the first time this season. He came off the bench with 18:09 left in the second half, scoring six points.
 
The Series
—Drake, winning its 14th straight game against the Purple Aces, improved its series record against Evansville to 37-28.