The Drake Bulldogs celebrate the final seconds of winning their second straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title, Sunday afternoon at Enterprise Center in St. Louis. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| MVC Tournament Final | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2 Drake (28-6) | 45 | 39 | 84 |
| #1 Indiana St. (28-6) | 32 | 48 | 80 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — Second-seeded Drake University withstood a furious second half rally by top-seeded Indiana State to win its second straight Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship, 84-80, Sunday afternoon at the Enterprise Center.
Drake, which was playing in its fourth straight MVC Tournament championship game, gave up an 18-point lead in the second half and even trailed briefly following a four-point play and a set of three free throws by Indiana State.
But the defending Arch Madness champion Bulldogs kept their composure and responded by making a set of clutch shots to re-take the lead. The Sycamores got as close as three points with 16.8 seconds left, but a missed free throw, followed by two makes by Drake gave the Bulldogs just the edge it needed to close out a nail biter of a win.
“Credit Indiana State for never quitting, continuing to fight,” Drake head coach Darian DeVries said. “I thought our guys showed incredible resolve there when all the momentum was gone. I love these guys so much. They just make the plays we needed to do. I’m incredibly proud of them.”
Coach DeVries’ son, Tucker DeVries, the two-time MVC Player of the Year, hit a three-pointer midway through the second half for a 67-49 Bulldog lead.
But Indiana State’s Isaiah Swope led a furious comeback, as he scored all 19 of his points in the second half, including a pair of back-to-back threes and then later a three-coupled with a foul, for a four-point play that gave the Sycamores their first lead since early in the first half.
Then after a pair of free throws gave Drake back the lead, Swope swiped it back by making three free throws to put Indiana State up 76-74 with 3:36 left.
Tucker DeVries hit a jumper to tie the score. Then after a defensive stop, teammate Conor Enright hit a three that gave the Bulldogs back the lead for good.
Indiana State had chances to get even in the final minutes, but it couldn’t get shots to go down like Drake could. And that’s why the Bulldogs won the MVC championship again.
“There’s been a lot of hard times throughout this year but the resilience of this group, it’s been a lot of fun,” Tucker DeVries said. “There’s no better way to do it than with 10 new guys. You look back to June, we had a long ways to go. To get to this point is really special.”
Tucker DeVries finished with a game-high 27 points and was named the MVC Tournament Most Outstanding Player for the second straight year.
But like last year, he had plenty of support. Center Darrell Brodie contributed 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Atin Wright, who joined DeVries on the MVC All-Tournament team added 17 points, as well.
The Drake Bulldogs celebrate winning the MVP championship and an automatic bid into the 2024 NCAA Tournament. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Five Sycamores scored in double figures, paced by Jayson Kent’s 22 points and nine rebounds. Swope scored 19 points and Robbie Avila 15 points as well.
Both teams will go into waiting for Selection Sunday with identical 28-6 records. Though Drake will feel a lot more comfortable.
The Bulldogs know they’ve qualified for the NCAA Tournament, but the Sycamores must sit and wait an entire week to find out if they’re getting an invite.
“I think we proved this tournament we’re good enough to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Indiana State head coach Josh Schertz said. “That’s the romanticism of the tournament, right? It’s been the mid-majors and the high-majors competing, and that’s what March Madness is. We should be in no matter what.”
Drake 84
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | DeVries, Tucker | * | 33 | 11-19 | 4-5 | 1-2 | 1-6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
| 10 | Wright, Atin | * | 34 | 7-13 | 3-6 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| 51 | Brodie, Darnell | * | 28 | 6-9 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 1-7 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 |
| 04 | Enright, Conor | * | 29 | 3-4 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 01 | Overton, Kevin | * | 30 | 1-4 | 1-2 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 03 | Garland, Colby | 18 | 3-9 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| 24 | Ferguson, Nate | 11 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 00 | Gibson, Kyron | 12 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | Rosario, Carlos | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 31-60 | 11-18 | 11-13 | 4-24 | 28 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 84 |
Indiana St. 80
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Kent,Jayson | * | 35 | 9-10 | 1-2 | 3-5 | 3-6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 |
| 02 | Swope,Isaiah | * | 30 | 6-13 | 3-8 | 4-4 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 19 |
| 21 | Avila,Robbie | * | 35 | 6-14 | 1-7 | 2-2 | 1-6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| 03 | Conwell,Ryan | * | 40 | 6-11 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1-6 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| 01 | Larry,Julian | * | 39 | 4-10 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 0-4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 24 | Wolfe,Jake | 9 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 00 | Bledson,Xavier | 12 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 31-59 | 7-24 | 11-15 | 6-26 | 32 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 80 |