(St. Louis, MO) – It was a nice, ‘bounce-back’ night for Missouri Valley Conference basketball. Member teams won five of six games during their pre-Christmas swing of games. Most importantly DRAKE WON! The entire conference has been pulling for the Bulldogs (2-10) and interim head coach Jeff Rutter to earn his first career win.
Jeff Rutter’s 1st Ever Tweet!
Rutter told godrakebulldogs.com that the win “was the best possible Christmas present you can imagine. Drake defeated Mississippi Valley State 101-69 as Billy Wampler buried eight three-pointers on the way to 27 points.
Freshman guard Landry Shamet scored 21 points to lead Wichita State to its 10th win of the season, defeating South Dakota State 89-67. Four other Shockers (10-3) reached the double figure mark.
Southern Illinois finished the non-conference schedule above .500 with a hard fought victory over Ohio Valley Conference power UT Martin. The Salukis (7-6) pulled away late in the game for a 78-70 victory over the Skyhawks (10-4). Sophomore Armon Fletcher was electric at times and led the Salukis with 22 points.
Jaylon Brown continues his ‘Player of the Year’ campaign tour with 33 points to lead the surprising Evansville Purple Aces to their ninth win of the season. UE defeated Mt. St. Joseph 68-55. The Aces (9-4) were picked to finish well down the Valley standings and Brown leads the league in scoring (21.5 ppg) and has topped the 30 point mark twice.
Illinois State won their third straight game and saw the return of 7′ center David Ndiaye. ISU (7-3) defeated Hawaii at the Diamond Head Classic. 71-45 was the final as Ndiaye returned from a foot injury to score four points and grab six rebounds. Dan Muller’s team plays San Francisco tonight in the second round of the tournament.
Missouri State knocked down 14 three-pointers, but fell to undefeated and 23rd ranked USC 83-75. Newcomers Alize Johnson and Ronnie Rousseau each scored 17 points in defeat. The Bears (8-4) play DePaul tonight in the Las Vegas Classic. MSU dropped a two-point decision at DePaul one month ago.
The Valley’s non-conference record is 69-53.
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The final pre-Christmas weekly all-stars of the @ValleyHoops & @OVCSports. With very rare exceptions, it's all about league play now for these leagues.
Now @DrakeBulldogsMB has moved into the top spot in @collegeinsider #midmajortop25 poll. @BradleyUMBB is 4th. @BelmontMBB is 17th.
.@SEMOMBB wins at home and is 2-0, tied with @MSUEaglesMBB atop the @OVCSports. Our prayers are with the @LRTrojans after the death of one of their managers Josh Claxton. Their game with EIU was postponed today.
Good officiating in the @SEMOMBB/@SIUEMBB in a little late game dust up.
