DES MOINES, Iowa – A record-tying comeback gave the Drake men's basketball team its first three-game winning streak of the season.
           
Jalen Quinn scored 10 of the team's last 11 points to finish with 26 and the Bulldogs rallied from a 19-point deficit in the final 13 minutes to beat Evansville 82-78 at the Knapp Center on Wednesday night and complete a season sweep of the Purple Aces.
 
The Bulldog rally matched the biggest comeback in program history. Drake came from 19 points down to beat Evansville 76-72 in overtime on Feb. 5, 2005, in Evansville.
 
Andrew Alia added a career-high 19 points to the Drake cause, including a 10-for-10 performance at the free throw line. Alia, a redshirt junior, had never before made more than four free throws in a game.
 
Free throw shooting became critical for the Bulldogs (12-10, 6-5 Missouri Valley Conference), who kept taking the ball aggressively to the basket and finished 28 of 38 at the line.  That helped offset Evansville's torrid second-half shooting and lifted Drake to its fourth victory in the last five games.
 
Owen Larson, continuing his solid play of late, scored 13 points and knocked down three second-half 3-pointers after going 0-for-6 from deep in the first half. Eli Shetlar made a key contribution with 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
Quinn, the Valley's leading scorer, went 7-for-15 from the field, sank 10 of his 13 free throws and tacked on six rebounds, five assists and two steals.  It was the 11th game of at least 20 points for the 6-foot-3 senior, who has averaged 27.2 points over his last five games.
 
Alia, whose previous best was 15 points against North Dakota State earlier this season, knocked down three 3-pointers, led the team with nine rebounds and handed out three assists. He also made a steal and committed just one turnover while playing a career-high 38.5 minutes.
 
Evansville (5-16, 1-9) made its first 10 shots in the second half and led 59-40 when Leif Moeller buried a trey with 12:56 left. But the Aces made only six more baskets and Drake began chip, chip, chipping away at the big lead.
 
Consecutive buckets by Larson and Quinn drew the Bulldogs to 61-47. After an Evansville dunk, Quinn hit a triple and Alia sank four free throws in a 7-0 run that sliced the lead to 63-54. At the media timeout with 7:29 to go, Evansville had made 12 of 14 shots in the half, but the Bulldogs were gaining some momentum.
 
A key stretch came when Alia dropped in two more foul shots and Shetlar was knocked to the floor while making a trey. He sank the ensuing free throw and the Bulldogs trailed 65-60 with 6:48 remaining.
 
Evansville got the lead back to 69-62 with four straight points, but Drake came back again. The Bulldogs were down four when Quinn picked off a cross-court pass, pushed the ball up the floor and found Alia in the right corner.  Alia buried the long ball to pull the Bulldogs to 72-71. They finally edged ahead when Quinn converted a three-point play for a 74-73 lead with 1:41 to go. Two Quinn free throws made it 76-73 and he answered two Evansville free throws by taking the ball into the lane and hitting a short jumper for a 78-75 lead with 42.7 seconds left.  But the Bulldogs still couldn't get comfortable.
 
AJ Casey hit a well-defended triple from the top of the key to pull the Aces to 79-78 with eight seconds on the clock. Quinn then made one of two free throws, and the Bulldogs caught a break when Evansville's Bryce Quinet fumbled the ball out of bounds driving to the basket with 1 second left. Two more Quinn free throws then wrapped up Drake's 15th straight victory over the Aces.
 
Evansville led by as many as nine points in the first half and was up 36-30 at the break. The Aces then caught fire and knocked down shot after shot, including four 3-pointers, in building their lead to 19. They shot 68 percent in the second half and 54.5 percent for the game while going 11-for-22 from distance.
 
Drake struggled through frigid 32 percent first-half shooting that included a 4-for-20 mark from behind the arc. But the Bulldogs eventually found their stroke and shot 56.5 percent in the second half to finish at 43 percent for the game. Drake outrebounded the Aces 32-28 and committed only seven turnovers.
 
Moeller led four Evansville players in double figures with 20 points. The Aces managed only one field goal after Connor Turnball's dunk off a lob pass with 4:41 remaining and were hurt by two turnovers at the end. They threw the ball away on a backdoor play that appeared to be open with 28.2 seconds left and then Quinet lost the ball in the final second.
 
"First off, give Coach Ragland a ton of credit," Drake head coach Eric Henderson said. "He had his squad more ready than I had mine. They jumped on us pretty good and we didn't have great energy to start, but we were able to find it. Once we started picking up full court, honestly, I think it kind of changed the energy for our team and then we were able to make some runs and then it got the energy changed in the Knapp Center and we were able to finish it off."
 
Next up: A chance to square the season series with Bradley, which routed the Bulldogs 93-66 in Peoria on Jan. 7. The Braves visit the Knapp Center on Saturday for a 5 p.m. game.
 
Team Notes
—Drake, winning its third straight game, improved its overall record to 12-10 including a 6-5 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
—The three-game winning streak is the longest under first year coach Eric Henderson
—The Bulldogs are 6-6 in home games, capturing their second straight home win.
—Drake tied a school record with its biggest comeback victory -19 points - in program history after trailing 59-40 with 12:57 left in the game.
—Drake rallied from a 19-point deficit to post a 76-72 overtime victory Feb. 5, 2005, in Evansville after erasing a 60-41deficit with 9:16 left in the game.
—There were four lead changes and six ties in the game.
—Drake shot 43.1 percent from the floor (22-51), including 56.5 percent (13-23) in the second half. It marked the third straight game the Bulldogs had shot 50 percent or better in the second half after hitting 55.2 percent (16-29) in the second half against Murray State, and 57.6 percent in the second half (15-26) at Indiana State last Saturday.
—Drake closed out the game making its last four shots in the final 3:10 with a traditional three-point play by Jalen Quinn with 1:40 left giving the Bulldogs a 74-73 lead it never relinquished.
—Drake outrebounded Evansville, 32-28, to improve to 8-2 when outrebounding opponents this season.
—The Bulldogs owned an 18-7 advantage in fast break points.
—Drake improved to 4-9 when trailing at halftime, rallying from a 36-30 halftime deficit.
 
Player Notes
—Senior transfer guard Jalen Quinn enjoyed his 11th 20-plus scoring game of the season, leading Drake with 26 points—18 in the second half.
—The 11, 20-plus scoring games also are the most by a player in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
—It marked Quinn's fifth straight 20-plus scoring game. He is averaging 27.2 points during that stretch: 21 at Southern Illinois, 28 at UIC, 34 vs. Murray State, 27 at Indiana State, 26 vs. Evansville.
—Junior Andrew Alia added a career-high 19 points, including 11 in the second half.
—Sophomore transfer guard Owen Larson scored 13 points, including 11 in the second half.
—The trio of Quinn (18), Alia (11) and Larson (11) combined for 40 of Drake's 52 points in the second half.
—Redshirt sophomore Eli Shetlar chipped in with 11 points including seven in the first half.
—Quinn also led Drake with five assists, while collecting six rebounds.
—Alia also led Drake with a career-tying nine rebounds.
—Alia set career highs in free throws made (10) and free throws attempted (10).
—Quinn made 10 of a career high 13 free throw attempts. It marked the sixth game this season in which he has had 10 or more free throw attempts, including the third time in his last four outings.
—Wilguens Jr. Exacte, who had started in 13 games, missed his eighth consecutive game because of a foot injury.
 
The Series
—Drake, earning its 15th straight victory against Evansville, owns a 38-28 lead in the series including a 22-10 mark against the Purple Aces in games played in Des Moines.
—This marked the second time in series history that Drake rallied from a 19-point deficit to win a game against the Purple Aces after coming from behind to earn a 76-72 overtime victory