Drake’s men’s basketball team took on Loyola University in the Knapp center Sunday, Jan. 30. The Bulldogs beat Loyola 77-68, which tied them for first place in the Missouri Valley standings.
Drake is 8-3 and in third place in the Missouri Valley Conference as of Monday, Feb. 7.
D.J. Wilkins led Drake with 20 points. Tucker DeVries and Garrett Sturtz had 13 each. ShanQuan Hemphill, also known as “Tank,” added 10 points. Finally, Darnell Brodie had nine points and 10 boards for the Bulldogs.
“The whole team bought into our strategy of play tonight,” DeVries said. “The goal was to outplay them and work harder than they did.”
Conor Enright didn’t play as he has decided to take a redshirt year his freshman season. That doesn’t stop him from being an impact on the team and knowing his role.
“I help the team prepare and focus on the little details during scout team,” Enright said. “I bring high levels of energy and competitiveness to the team every day.”
The top two teams play again on Saturday, Feb. 19. The Bulldogs head to Loyola before the MVC tournament.
“The local support is amazing,” DeVries said. “Especially being from here and seeing all the fans come to support us is cool. The atmosphere was a lot of fun and played a big part in the game. I feed off the crowd and use it for energy and excitement to find that extra gear.”
If Drake continues trending in this direction and stays healthy, they will compete in March Madness.
“To get to March Madness, we must keep doing the little things that win us games in practice, on and off the court,” said Jonah Jackson, senior guard. “Continue with our good habits and take it one game at a time.”
DeVries wasn’t active on the team when they made it to March Madness, but he said he enjoyed watching the team make it into the tournament.
“It was a cool and exciting experience to watch from the bench and see first-hand what I have been dreaming of my whole life,” DeVries said.
After the Loyola game, Drake also played Indiana State on Feb. 2 and the University of Northern Iowa on Feb. 5. Drake beat Indiana 85-67, but lost to UNI 74-69.
In the Indiana State game the starting five players for Drake scored in the double digits. Senior guard Roman Penn moved into third in assists in program history with 380 after nabbing a season high of six assists in the game.
Drake was able to tie up the UNI game in the last 40 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime. However, the Bulldogs missed their first nine shots in extra time, leading to UNI winning at home.
DeVries led Drake with 15 points in the overtime loss to UNI and Wilkins trailed with 13 points. This game was also the sixth time this season Drake had five players score in double figures. Drake’s season high four-game winning streak was snapped in this loss as well. Drake was 12-of-17 from the free throw line, while UNI was 24-of-26.
The Bulldogs will next play Missouri State on Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Roger Knapp Center.
