VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Drake men's basketball team was nearly on the brink of snapping its seven-game losing streak, but a three-point dagger with two seconds left kept the Bulldogs out of the win column on Wednesday night in its final road game of the regular season.
 
The Bulldogs came out of the gates with a hot start and were feeling fresh after having a week off. Drake began the game with a quick 9-0 run as Andrew Alia and Jalen Quinn connected on a couple of three-pointers to ignite the early charge.
 
Drake's defense reared its teeth to start the game as well, holding the Beacons to just 25-percent shooting from the floor over the first eight minutes of play. Valpo did eventually shake off the rust, however, and started to connect on some shots from beyond the arc trimming the Drake lead down to just two, 24-22, with 7:10 remaining in the half.
 
The three-pointers continued to rain for Valpo over the next two minutes and a triple from the top of the key by Rakim Chaney gave the Beacons their first lead of the game, 28-26, at the 5:37 mark. A driving layup on the Beacons next possession from Owen Dease then lead to an 8-0 run and forced a timeout from the Drake bench.
 
Drake responded coming out of the timeout and went on a 6-0 run of its own led by Quinn and Owen Larson to get its lead back and took it into the locker room for halftime up by one, 37-36. Quinn led all scorers at the break with 16 points in the first 20 minutes of action. Larson chipped in with seven, meanwhile, and Jaehshon Thomas added six points off the bench.
 
The start of the second half saw the two sides matching each other shot-for-shot, but Drake still clung to its one-point advantage, 53-52, as Larson swished a long-range jumper from the wing. The sophomore was the catalyst for the Bulldogs offense hitting four of his first five shots from the floor early in the second period.
 
When the game reached the under-eight timeout, Drake grew its lead up five, 61-56, off an Okku Federiko triple. The Bulldogs were 4-of-7 from three-point land at the point in the half, but also got a nice lift from Isiaha Carr down low on the block with the senior making all three of his shots.
 
A cold spell then fell over the Bulldogs as they faced a stretch of over three minutes without making a shot from the floor allowing Valpo to pull within one possession. At the 3:01 mark Shon Tuputola sank a hookshot from the baseline to put the score at 69-67. A couple of minutes later, it was Tuputola tying the game at 71-71 off another bucket inside.
 
After Valpo failed to take the lead off free throws, Drake had an opportunity to go ahead with 30 seconds remaining in the game. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs turned the ball over giving the ball back to the Beacons for one final shot.
 
And they converted as JT Pettigrew made the three-pointer sinking the Bulldogs to another defeat.
 
The Bulldogs will close out the regular season from the Knapp Center on Sunday, March 1 as they host in-state rival UNI. Tip-off against the Panthers is slated for 2:00 p.m. CT.
 
Team Notes
—Drake, suffering its eighth straight loss, slipped to 12-18 overall including a 6-13 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
—The Bulldogs' away record fell to 4-7
—The eight-game losing skid is the longest at the school since the 2016-17 campaign when the Bulldogs also lost eight straight games (Nov. 24-Dec. 19)
—Drake outrebounded Valpo, 31-29
—Drake shot 48-percent (27-56) from the floor, while Valpo shot 44-percent (24-54)
—Drake went the final 2:00 minutes of the game without hitting a basket from the floor and made just one-of-four attempts over the final four minutes
—Drake committed two turnovers in the final 50 seconds, its last two possessions of the game
 
Player Notes
—Jalen Quinn, who leads the MVC in scoring (19.9 avg.), enjoyed his 27^th game scoring double figures with 16 points, all in the first half.
—Owen Larson led the Bulldogs with 18 points on the night, his highest scoring output since he went for 21 points at Indiana State on Jan. 24.
—Freshman Griffen Goodbary matched a career-high 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night including a career-best 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.
 —Redshirt sophomore Eli Shetlar led Drake with six rebounds and a career-best five assists.
—Wilguens Jr. Exacte, who had started in 13 games, missed his 16th consecutive game because of a foot injury.
 
The Series
—Drake, suffering the season sweep against Valpo, is now 14-10 all-time against the Beacons.
—The Bulldogs are now an even .500 at 7-7 in games played from Valparaiso