Wednesday, January 18
Des Moines, IA
7 PM
Southern Illinois University
11-9 (4-3MVC)
84
at
88
Drake
6-13 (4-3MVC)
1
2
OT 1
F
Southern Illinois
34
42
8
84
Drake
38
38
12
88
Drake slips by Men's Basketball in overtime, 88-84
01/18/2017 | 11:08:00 | Men's Basketball
DES MOINES, Iowa — Drake overcame a five-point deficit in the final 18 seconds of regulation, and then scored the last seven points in overtime to beat Southern Illinois, 88-84, on Wednesday night in a wild one at the Knapp Center.
After going 2-10 during non-conference play and having their head coach resign, the Bulldogs (6-13, 4-3) are fast becoming the surprise team of the Missouri Valley Conference. Picked to finish last, they are tied with SIU and Missouri State for third place in the league standings.
The Salukis (11-9, 4-3) will look back on this one with regrets. In a spectacular rally, they drained 6-of-8 shots from 3-point range in the second half to erase a 13-point deficit. When Mike Rodriguez sank a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining to put Southern ahead, 76-71, a victory seemed virtually assured. Complicating matters for Drake, their best player, Reed Timmer, had just left the game with five fouls and 20 points.
Drake kept its cool, though, as Ore Arogundade buried a deep 3-pointer to trim it to 76-74 with 12 seconds to go. On the ensuing in-bounds play, Sean O'Brien's pass was intercepted by Drake's Graham Woodward. T.J. Thomas missed a 3-pointer with eight seconds, but Oregundade grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made two pressure-packed free throws with six seconds left to tie it up. Rodriguez attempted a desperation three at the buzzer that landed well short.
In overtime, the Salukis led by three points on a layup by Armon Fletcher with 1:36 to go, but that was Southern's last bucket of the night. Arogundade made another three and Jacob Enevold converted a layup to put Drake on top, 86-84, with 33 seconds left. SIU's Sean Lloyd was whistled for traveling with eight seconds, and De'Ante McMurray sealed the win with two free throws.
"We lost the game in regulation and they beat us in overtime," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "We threw the ball away underneath their basket with a timeout to be wasted (at the end of regulation). We had a chance to dive on the floor for a loose ball (in overtime) and we elected not to."
"Our kids did a phenomenal job of coming back under really tough circumstances," Hinson continued. "But in the last 18 seconds, we kind of went brain-dead."
As he's been in SIU's last two road wins, Rodriguez was spectacular. By far the quickest player on the floor, he carved up Drake's defense for 24 points and seven of the team's 11 assists.
The Salukis had their best 3-point shooting night of the season, making 10-of-25 (40 percent). Drake elected to double-team O'Brien in the post, and SIU swung the ball to wide-open shooters, such as Lloyd, who made 4-of-6 from downtown and had a career-high 17 points.
Drake's starting backcourt was just a hair better, outscoring SIU's starting guards, 58-54. In addition to Timmer, Arogundade had 19 and McMurray scored 18 points.
"Huge, huge plays by so many guys in crunch time," said Drake interim head coach Jeff Rutter. "It's been fun to see these guys grow to make winning plays, to make them for another. We had some gritty defense."
As well as Southern shot the ball from the perimeter, Drake was even better, converting 12-of-27.
"We knew if they scored over 80 points we were going to get beat," Hinson said. "(Drake) is the most dangerous team to play in the Valley. They've got nothing to lose. They are Golden State at home."
After going 2-10 during non-conference play and having their head coach resign, the Bulldogs (6-13, 4-3) are fast becoming the surprise team of the Missouri Valley Conference. Picked to finish last, they are tied with SIU and Missouri State for third place in the league standings.
The Salukis (11-9, 4-3) will look back on this one with regrets. In a spectacular rally, they drained 6-of-8 shots from 3-point range in the second half to erase a 13-point deficit. When Mike Rodriguez sank a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining to put Southern ahead, 76-71, a victory seemed virtually assured. Complicating matters for Drake, their best player, Reed Timmer, had just left the game with five fouls and 20 points.
Drake kept its cool, though, as Ore Arogundade buried a deep 3-pointer to trim it to 76-74 with 12 seconds to go. On the ensuing in-bounds play, Sean O'Brien's pass was intercepted by Drake's Graham Woodward. T.J. Thomas missed a 3-pointer with eight seconds, but Oregundade grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made two pressure-packed free throws with six seconds left to tie it up. Rodriguez attempted a desperation three at the buzzer that landed well short.
In overtime, the Salukis led by three points on a layup by Armon Fletcher with 1:36 to go, but that was Southern's last bucket of the night. Arogundade made another three and Jacob Enevold converted a layup to put Drake on top, 86-84, with 33 seconds left. SIU's Sean Lloyd was whistled for traveling with eight seconds, and De'Ante McMurray sealed the win with two free throws.
"We lost the game in regulation and they beat us in overtime," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "We threw the ball away underneath their basket with a timeout to be wasted (at the end of regulation). We had a chance to dive on the floor for a loose ball (in overtime) and we elected not to."
"Our kids did a phenomenal job of coming back under really tough circumstances," Hinson continued. "But in the last 18 seconds, we kind of went brain-dead."
As he's been in SIU's last two road wins, Rodriguez was spectacular. By far the quickest player on the floor, he carved up Drake's defense for 24 points and seven of the team's 11 assists.
The Salukis had their best 3-point shooting night of the season, making 10-of-25 (40 percent). Drake elected to double-team O'Brien in the post, and SIU swung the ball to wide-open shooters, such as Lloyd, who made 4-of-6 from downtown and had a career-high 17 points.
Drake's starting backcourt was just a hair better, outscoring SIU's starting guards, 58-54. In addition to Timmer, Arogundade had 19 and McMurray scored 18 points.
"Huge, huge plays by so many guys in crunch time," said Drake interim head coach Jeff Rutter. "It's been fun to see these guys grow to make winning plays, to make them for another. We had some gritty defense."
As well as Southern shot the ball from the perimeter, Drake was even better, converting 12-of-27.
"We knew if they scored over 80 points we were going to get beat," Hinson said. "(Drake) is the most dangerous team to play in the Valley. They've got nothing to lose. They are Golden State at home."
Team Stats
SIU
DU
FG%
.431
.448
3FG%
.400
.444
FT%
.600
.800
RB
39
40
TO
8
12
STL
7
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
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