Darian DeVries
The Drake men’s basketball team remained among the ranks of the undefeated Wednesday evening, holding off Missouri State, 78-73, at JQH Arena.
The win completed a two-game sweep of Missouri State to improve the Bulldogs to 15-0 this season and 6-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
“Coming off a three-week layoff, to come down here and get two wins is huge for us,” said Drake head coach Darian DeVries.
A day after rallying from a 17-point deficit to win, Drake built up a 13-point lead Wednesday and then held off a 15-0 Missouri State run to prevail.
ShanQuan Hemphill led Drake with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting as one of four Bulldogs in double figures. Roman Penn had a big second half and finished with 18 points while D.J. Wilkins had 11 points and a pair of critical three-pointers in the final minutes.
“Tank was really aggressive in the first half and was able to get downhill and get to the rim,” DeVries said. “He played 40 minutes and it was an awesome effort for him.”
Missouri State (9-3, 5-3 MVC) was paced by 20-point nights from Isiaih Mosley (23) and Gaige Primm (20) as both recorded double-doubles with 11 and 14 rebounds, respectively. Twelve of Prim’s points came at the free-throw line while Mosley scored 21 of his points in the second half to lead the Bears’ comeback.
The 15-0 Bulldogs return to the Knapp Center Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 to host Illinois State for a two-game MVC series. A limited number of fans will be allowed inside the Knapp Center for the two contests.