Drake Back on Track – Upsets No. 15

Valley’s Second Top 25 Win

(St. Louis, MO) – A season of great promise had not gone according to the script for Darian DeVries and the Drake Bulldogs, but following their impressive win over previously undefeated Mississippi State the Bulldogs’ season is back on track.

While winning their first six games against solid competition, the Bulldogs seemed to be living up to the billing as the Missouri Valley Conference’s best team. After a loss in their conference opener to the Valley’s surprise team, Indiana State, the Bulldogs righted the ship and picked up wins over Illinois-Chicago and Omaha.

A 30-point, embarrassing loss at Richmond then brought doubts about how good Drake truly is. Depth concerns became great fears. Lack of size and defensive tenacity were being questioned.

Then came a trip to St. Louis to play the Billikens. During the team’s second straight game against an Atlantic Ten team, there were signs of that Drake toughness. The Bulldog competitive fire was growing. It was a game they should have won and felt like they let get away when and end of game shooting slump sealed their fate.

Drake had lost three of its last five games but the Saint Louis game offered hope. The bench was better and despite allowing 83 points the defense seemed to improve. Coach DeVries liked some of what he saw in the Gateway City, but was salty. He genuinely believed they let an important victory get away.

Back on Track

Tuesday’s win over No. 15, and previously undefeated Mississippi State was a game changer for this Drake team. The 58-52 neutral court victory showed a toughness and a defensive ‘want to’ the Bulldogs have been looking for. They allowed just 21, second half points and stood toe-to-toe with the bigger stronger opposing Southeastern Conference foe.

DeVries gushed with pride after the game.

“I was really proud of the guys because we were able to beat them at their own game, matching their physicality,” said DeVries. “It says a lot about the type of game we played. Guys did a great job coming out, controlling glass on the defensive end and limiting our turnovers.”

Roman Penn’s ‘game on the line’ offensive heroics sealed the win. Penn scored the team’s last six points of the game on one field goal and four clutch free-throws. The 6’1 Penn finished with a team-high 19 points. Sardaar Calhoun (17) and Tucker DeVries (15) also reached double figures in scoring.

Coach DeVries says it was a ‘back on track’ kind of win.

“This was a big one for us,” said DeVries. “We didn’t get rewarded with a win in Saint Louis but I thought we’ve made some strides over the last week. Our guys stuck together with the formula we thought would be successful.”

Calhoun seems to be emerging. The Texas Tech transfer picked up his third straight double digit scoring performance. While Tucker DeVries had been slumping (7 of 25 from deep) during the Richmond, SLU, Mississippi State games, the rest of his game has held steady.

The rest of the bench is steadily improving. DeVries is getting improved play out of Connor Enright, Eric Northweather and Nate Ferguson.

DeVries got back on track the next day against St. Ambrose.

Quick Turn Around and now Rest

Due to the midwest weather conditions, Drake moved up its game with St. Ambrose and handled the lower division team handily (124-48). The younger DeVries went four-for-four from deep and grabbed eleven rebounds.

Drake’s reserves received plenty of playing time against St. Ambrose and made the most of it. Okay Djamgouz, who missed the Saint Louis game with sickness, scored 21 points. Ferguson chipped in 17 points and Northweather 11.

The preseason Valley favorites are now off until league play begins on December 29 against Valparaiso.

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