DES MOINES, Iowa – A game that see-sawed throughout ended with a fourth straight loss for the Drake men's basketball team.
 
The Bulldogs got 33 points from Jalen Quinn and a season-high 14 from Isaiah Carr but still fell short, losing to Valparaiso 81-76 at the Knapp Center on Monday after leading for much of the second half. Valpo outscored Drake 7-0 over the final two minutes to get out of town with the victory.
 
It was one more in a string of tough losses at home for the Bulldogs (12-14, 6-9 Missouri Valley Conference).  Six of their eight losses at the Knapp Center have been decided by five points or fewer. This latest loss ended an eight-game winning streak against Valparaiso, which won in Des Moines for the first time since a 69-64 victory on Feb. 24, 2018.
 
Drake fell behind by eight points early, rallied to a two-point lead at halftime, then went up 60-53 when the 7-foot Carr flew into the lane to tip in a missed shot with 12:31 left. The Beacons got back into it quickly with six straight points, but Drake kept fending them off and Valpo didn't go ahead to stay until there was just over a minute to play.
 
Quinn, the Valley's leading scorer, topped 30 points for the fourth time this season and third time in the last seven games. He went 14-for-23 from the field, scoring on a series of drives and pull-up jump shots, and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
Eli Shetlar added 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range, while Carr supplemented his scoring with five rebounds and two blocks. The 14 points matched his career high, first achieved when he was playing at Denver.
 
The Bulldogs' shooting slumped after they shot 53.1 percent in the first half and they finished at 43.5 percent for the game. They missed their final four shots of the game after Quinn's driving bucket gave them a 76-74 lead with 2:03 remaining.
 
Freshman JT Pettigrew's 23-point, 12-rebound double-double led Valparaiso (13-12, 7-7), which won for the fifth time in seven games. The Beacons made more free throws than Drake attempted, going 18-for-27 while Drake was 9-of-14. They also outrebounded the Bulldogs 42-34. Andrew Alia led Drake in that area with seven.
 
Quinn scored 10 of Drake's 13 points during one stretch in the first half to help pull the Bulldogs out of a 13-5 hole. His last basket in that stretch drew Drake to 22-20 and Carr hit a baby hook on the next possession to tie it. The score was tied three more times after that before Shetlar buried a triple for a 29-26 Bulldog lead with 7:12 left in the half.
 
Drake's Okku Federiko soared above a crowd around the basket for an offensive rebound and stickback for a 37-32 lead with 3:18 until halftime, and the Bulldogs settled for a 40-38 edge at the break.
 
The second half began as the Quinn-Shetlar show, the two combing for the team's first 18 points of the period, resulting in a 58-53 lead. Carr then blocked a shot and followed with his tip-in moments later for that seven-point lead. But the Beacons refused to go away, even after Quinn buried a pull-up jumper over 6-11 Carter Hopoi to put Drake up 72-68 with 4:30 to go.
 
But the Bulldogs managed only one field goal after that, Quinn's drive at the 2:03 mark. Valpo produced the last of the game's 11 ties when Brody Whitaker sank two free throws to even things up at 76 with 1:48 left. After a miss on the Bulldogs' end, Pettigrew knocked down a triple for a 79-76 Valpo edge with 1:07 remaining – the last of the game's nine lead changes. Two free throws wrapped it up for the Beacons, leaving the Bulldogs with another heartbreaking loss.
 
"Certainly disappointed in the outcome," Drake head coach Eric Henderson said. "Got to give Coach Powell and his group a lot of credit for hanging in there and really taking advantage of some of our mistakes late in the game and winning the last four minutes. There's no secret we're searching defensively and its been a struggle for us the last four or five games, but we'll keep working at it and we're going to find those buttons that we need to push."
 
They'll try to right the ship when UIC visits the Knapp Center on Thursday night, a game that tips at 6:30. Then it's on to Northern Iowa for a 2 p.m. game on Sunday, Feb. 15.
 
Team Notes
—Drake, suffering its fourth straight loss, slipped to 12-14 overall including a 6-9 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
—The Bulldogs' home record fell to 6-8, including a 3-6 mark in MVC games.
—Drake has now lost six home games by five points or less.
—There were 11 ties and nine lead changes
—Valparaiso used a 7-0 run to close out the game, rallying from a 76-74 deficit. Drake missed its last four shots of the contests.
—Drake owned a 40-38 halftime lead, seeing its record fall to 8-2 when leading at halftime.
—Drake owned a 16-6 advantage in points scored off turnovers.
—Drake shot 43.5 percent (30-69) including 53.1 percent (17-32) in the first half.
 
Player Notes
—Senior transfer guard Jalen Quinn enjoyed a Missouri Valley Conference leading 14th 20-plus scoring game by leading Drake with 33 points, including 19 in the second half.   
—Redshirt sophomore Eli Shetlar added 15 points, making five of nine three-point shots.
—Isaiah Carr tied a career high with 14 points, his second double-figure output of the season.
—It marked the eighth time in the last nine games Quinn has scored 20-plus points including his fourth straight home game.
—Quinn made four of eight free throws, while leading the team with three assists and two steals.
—Quinn has 32 free throw attempts in his last three home games: 13 vs. Evansville, 11 vs. Bradley, eight vs. Valparaiso.
—Quinn surpassed 1,000 points for his career and achieved 100 career steals.
—It marked the fourth game Shetlar has made five or more three-point baskets.
—Junior Andrew Alia had a streak of 29 consecutive made free throws come to an end when he missed his second attempt with 59 seconds left in the first half.
—Wilguens Jr. Exacte, who had started in 13 games, missed his 12th consecutive game because of a foot injury.
 
The Series
—Drake had an eight-game winning streak against Valparaiso snapped but the Bulldogs still lead the all-time series, 14-9 including 7-2 mark in Des Moines, This was Valparaiso's first win in Des Moines since Feb. 24, 2018.