ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Atin Wright went down on his knees and slapped the court with two hands, smiling at his Drake teammates while Tucker DeVries headed to the free-throw line, as the crowd chanted “M-V-P.”
Wright is a newcomer for the Bulldogs, drawn from his native California by the promise of winning. DeVries is the two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, the son of Drake coach Darian DeVries.
Together – and with big plays by Darnell Brodie and Conor Enright – they helped land Drake back in the NCAA Tournament, holding off a late rally by Indiana State for an 84-80 victory Sunday in the Valley championship game at the Enterprise Center.
It was a second consecutive tournament triumph for the Bulldogs, who won’t have to sweat out a week of waiting to find out if they’re going to the Big Dance. They’re in. Again. For a third time in four years.
But it wasn’t easy. Indiana State trailed by double-digits for much of the game. But the Sycamores awoke late, with a 10-0 burst fueled by Isaiah Swope. He had eight points in that stretch, and scored all of his 19 after intermission. His four-point play gave Indiana State a 74-73 lead, its first since 2-0 in the opening minutes.
Drake was unfazed.
Brodie connected on a short hook shot. Enright fought through a screen to draw a foul on the defensive end, then calmly canned a 3-pointer to put Drake back ahead 79-76. Brodie made two free throws late, patiently waiting through a timeout for his opportunity, and DeVries made one to produce the final tally for the Bulldogs, who soon were swarming off of their bench to celebrate what they worked all winter to accomplish.
Drake (28-6), the second seed, was making its fourth consecutive appearance in the Valley title game, only the second school to ever do so (Tulsa, no longer a Valley member, was in six straight from 1982-87). The Bulldogs beat Bradley here a year ago to win this event for only the second time in school history (the first was in 2008).
Top-seeded Indiana State (28-6) last won this tournament in 2011, when they were coached by Iowa native Greg Lansing.
Sunday’s showdown was dazzling from the outset. The first media timeout didn’t come until 12:07 remained in the first half, as the Valley’s top two offensive teams set a frenzied pace early. All five Drake starters scored in the opening 5 minutes, including back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers by Enright, DeVries and Kevin Overton. When play was finally stopped by a deadball situation, Drake, the deeper team, led 21-13 and was able to sub in three fresh players.
Moments later, when Overton and DeVries both went to the bench with two early fouls, Wright took over, nailing a trio of 3-pointers to push Drake ahead 37-23 and prompt an Indiana State timeout. The Bulldogs connected on their first seven 3-point attempts.
Then it was Sycamores guard Ryan Conwell’s turn to assert himself, reeling off seven consecutive points to cut that deficit in half.
Drake pushed its lead to 45-32 at halftime, boosted by 15 points from Wright and 14 from DeVries, and a defensive effort that held the Sycamores scoreless over the final 4:24 of the half. It was Indiana State’s largest halftime deficit this season.
Drake got off to a strong start in the second half as well, making its first three field-goal attempts, two of them by DeVries, as the lead swelled to 53-37. But even that never felt comfortable against the Sycamores, who pushed Drake to the brink.
The Bulldogs didn’t blink. They’re champions again, with two nets and a trophy to show for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment