The Drake Bulldogs are led by MVC Player of the Year Tucker DeVries. In today’s MVC semifinal against Southern Illinois however, it was an all around team effort from Drake that powered a 65-52 victory over the No. 3 seed Salukis.
DeVries scored efficiently in the first half, finishing with 12 points. The sophomore used his elite shot creation ability to score at will anywhere on the court.
His teammates also provided a helping hand in the blowout over Southern Illinois. Senior forward from Newark, New Jersey Darnell Brodie ate up the boards, finishing with 17 rebounds. Graduate student Roman Penn orchestrated a beautiful Bulldog offense and was a key point defender as well. He got 16 points to lead the Bulldogs
Texas Tech transfer Sardaar Calhoun provided some bench scoring early on. Calhoun hit two big threes in the first half to get the Drake offense going.
The start of the game came as a bit of a punch in the mouth to the Bulldogs. Southern Illinois scored the first nine points of the game, as it looked to be all maroon early. Senior guard Lance Jones hit two 3-pointers and looked to be in rhythm, but Drake head coach Darian DeVries never wavered, and allowed his team to adjust to the game flow.
Jones finished with 18 points. Saluki star Marcus Domask was quiet all game long. Constant double teams by the Drake defense caused Domask to consistently give up the ball, therefore never getting into the groove.
Going into the second half, Drake held a 39-23 lead. That was quickly broken down into a five point game only four minutes in. Once again, Southern Illinois started a half with a bang. Once again however, the Bulldogs had a response.
Grad student and fan favorite Garrett Sturtz provided the offense with a couple of nice drives to the rim, resulting in either a make or free throw attempt. Sturtz finished with 12 points.
After Drake got its lead back to double digits, it was smooth sailing the rest of the second half as the Bulldogs consistently kept the Salukis at arm length. Despite a couple of nice runs to start each half, Southern Illinois just didn’t have one last push in them.
With the victory today, Drake advances to its third straight MVC tournament championship. In each of the past two seasons, the Bulldogs lost to Loyola Chicago. Fortunately for DeVries and company, the Ramblers are no longer in the conference.
The Bulldogs however do have a tough challenge in front of them, the Bradley Braves. Bradley defeated Indiana State earlier in the day to clinch a spot in the championship.
The Braves and Bulldogs met twice earlier this season, each grabbing one of those games. Most recently on February 26, when Bradley defended home court and took the No. 1 seed in this year’s tournament, a 73-61 victory.
The championship tips off tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Enterprise Center.