Timmer, Bulldogs Slip Past Bear in Des Moines Battle
Box Score | Season Stats | MVC-Only Stats | Tickets for SIU Game
 
DES MOINES, Iowa – Reed Timmer's 24 points, and Drake's precision free throw shooting were enough to lead Drake (12-9, 6-2 MVC) past Missouri State, 61-58, in comeback fashion here Saturday in a Missouri Valley Conference clash of co-leaders.
 
The Bears (15-6, 5-3 MVC) were led by Jarrid Rhodes and Jarred Dixon who scored 15 points apiece, while J.T. Miller added 11 off the bench.
 
The game featured nine ties and four lead changes, but the last six minutes were the most dramatic.
 
MSU led by five at the break, but Drake fought back to take the lead less than four minutes into the second half. The Bears regained their composure and used an 8-2 run to push ahead by six with just over 13 minutes left to play.
 
Drake rallied again, using a 7-0 swing to take a 44-43 lead with 8:42 on the clock.
 
The Bears tied the game again on a layup by Rhodes with 6:28 to go, but would go the next three minutes without a field goal before Rhodes scored on a put-back at 3:07 that made it a 54-53 game.
 
Timmer's layup in transition with 43 seconds gave the Bulldogs a three-point lead, and his two free throws with 25.6 showing made it 58-53. 
 
But the Bears rallied late, getting a layup by Dixon and a triple by Rhodes in the span of just eight seconds to make it a two point game with 10.1 to play.
 
C.J. Rivers missed two free throws for the Bulldogs with 8.7 seconds left, but Miller's ensuing drive to the basket for the potential tying shot was snuffed out by Drake. The Bears then fouled Nick McGlynn who made one of two shots, but Missouri State failed to get off a potential game-tying 3-pointer before the clock expired.
 
MSU was out-rebounded 43-40 but made four more buckets than DU, converting 24-of-67 (.358) shots and 5-of-17 (.294) from three. The Bears were only allotted seven trips to the foul line, making five.
 
The Bears also committed just eight turnovers on the day.
 
Drake was held to 3-of-26 (.115) from long distance, and 20-of-58 (.345) overall, but won the game at the line where they made 18 straight before finishing the game 18-of-21 (.857).
 
In the first half, Missouri State made four more field goals than the Bulldogs and held Drake to its lowest first-half total of the year, leading 28-23 at the midway point.
 
After falling behind 5-2 early, Missouri State used an 11-0 run that included a triple by Miller to push ahead 13-5 just eight minutes in. Drake answered with an 8-2 outburst before Jarrid Rhodes dropped in a triple for the visitors.
 
The Bears survived a brief 6-0 run by Drake in the final four minutes of the half, using a Dixon floater and back-to-back drives by Miller to go into the intermission with a five-point advantage.
 
The Bears conclude a two-game conference road swing Tuesday at Bradley with tipoff at 7 p.m. on KOZL-TV and the MSU Television Network..
 
MSU returns home on Saturday, Jan. 27 to take on Southern Illinois at 5 p.m. on a "Black Out" night at JQH Arena. Tickets for the SIU game are on sale now at MissouriStateBears.com or at the Old Missouri Bank Box Office at JQH Arena -- (417) 836-7678 – during regular box office hours.
 
Lower-level chairback seats for the SIU game will be sold for just $15 on the day of the game.
 
#MSUBears