Senior Craig Stanley missed a go-ahead lay-up with 10.5 seconds left in the game as Drake lost 60-58 to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at the Knapp Center Friday. It was the first win of the season for SIUE, and the Bulldogs record moved to 2-5.

Stanley’s chance came after the Cougars’ Mark Yelovich knocked down a 3-point shot to take the final lead with 49 seconds left. Yelovich led scoring with 24 points.

“We did not do what we needed to do to finish,” Head Coach Mark Phelps said. “We had our chances on both ends of the court.”

Stanley and senior Bill Eaddy provided important minutes on the court for Drake—Stanley had eight points and Eaddy had five. Phelps said that was one of the bright spots for the Bulldogs in the game.

“They are terrific seniors,” Phelps said. “We definitely deferred to our older guys tonight.”

Stanley and Eaddy played early and often, as freshman center Seth VanDeest picked up his second foul with 16:55 left in the first half and quickly headed to the bench. VanDeest returned with a huge second half, and led Drake in scoring with 15 points. A VanDeest bucket gave the Bulldogs a 56-50 lead with 3:48 remaining.

“Seth was a bright spot,” Phelps said. “He was able to score down low.”

Senior Adam Templeton had eight points and matched a career-high with 10 rebounds.

“Adam played really hard,” Phelps said.

The sharpshooting Bulldogs were held in check, as freshman Ben Simons and junior Ryan Wedel were held to a combined 0-10 from beyond the arc. Simons did not score, and Wedel finished with 10 points.

Senior Josh Young had only six points, but recorded a team-high four assists.

The defense, again, was a concern of Phelps after the game, as SIUE shot 50 percent from the field.

“We weren’t able to keep them out of the paint,” he said.

SENIOR GUARD JOSH YOUNG looks for options with pressure from North Dakota. Young led the team to a win Saturday and recorded a season high 17 points. Photo: Emily Tozer

JUNIOR GUARD RYAN WEDEL dribbles toward SIU-Edwardsville defenders during Friday night’s game at the Knapp Center. Photo: Emily Tozer

It was a different story for Drake Saturday, as the Bulldogs rode on the ball skills of freshman Aaron Hawley in the first half, en route to a 72-63 victory over North Dakota. Hawley scored 13 of his 16 points in the first 20 minutes.

“We had to bounce back today, and we did,” Hawley said. “It’s good for us as a team knowing we can bounce back from a bad loss.”

Josh Young started the game on fire as well, scoring seven points in the opening five minutes. He finished with a total 17 points.

“It was great to see our leader come out and set the tone,” Phelps said.

Nearly half of both team’s field goal attempts were from beyond the arc. Phelps said that the zone defenses contributed to that, but still emphasized the importance of being aggressive.

“Despite the zone, we still wanted to get touches in the paint,” Phelps said. “We still shot too many threes.”

Phelps also said that it was no coincidence that each of Hawley’s best games this season have resulted in Drake victories. Hawley also had 16 points in a win at Austin Peay on Nov. 27.

“Hawley is getting better and better, and his basketball is ahead of him,” Phelps said.

The Bulldogs began the second half on a 12-2 run and opened up a 20 point lead. North Dakota cut the lead to 10 points with nine minutes left, but Young and Wedel responded with back-to-back threes to make the score 57-41 at the 8:07 mark and force a Fighting Sioux timeout.

Drake also shot accurately from the free throw line, making 19 of 35 for 82.9 percent. The Bulldogs shot 54.5 percent against SIUE the night before.

“We made our free throws and that was key,” Phelps said.