FRESHMAN CENTER SETH VANDEEST takes on a defender in a home game early this season. VanDeest led the Bulldogs with seven rebounds in the team’s third win against Southern Illinois. Photo: Sarah Andrews
Panthers shut down Bulldogs’ efforts on offense
DRAKE 40, UNI 55
Drake suffered the longest field goal drought in school history, going 20:58 without a bucket, as top seed Northern Iowa advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference semi-finals with a 55-40 victory on Friday in St. Louis.
The Bulldogs jumped to a 24-13 lead on a three by freshman Aaron Hawley with 7:59 left in the first half. But Drake scored only four points on free throws until junior Ryan Wedel’s trey ended the drought with seven minutes left in the game. Northern Iowa outscored Drake 33-4 before Wedel’s shot.
“We missed shots,” Phelps said. “Certainly their defense has to play a large role, but sometimes you just miss shots.”
Drake threatened to shake up the bracket by going on a 9-0 run to take a 17-8 early in the game. Freshman Ben Simons’ three capped the run and the Bulldogs started out 10-for-15 from the field.
Senior Josh Young said the energy from Thursday’s last-second win carried over into the start of the game.
“We had some momentum going in the first half,” Young said. “Then they started to key on shooters and had good rotation.”
After the hot start, Northern Iowa, which ranks second in the nation only giving up 55.3 points per game, turned up the intensity. Drake shot 3-for-25 the rest of the way after Hawley’s three. The Bulldogs only shot 16.7 percent in the second half.
“Defensively we just turned it up,” Northern Iowa sophomore guard Johnny Moran said.
Drake led 24-23 at the half, but Northern Iowa came out with more urgency in the second. A Jordan Eglseder bucket and Moran trey put the Panthers up 28-24, but freshman Seth VanDeest knocked down two free throws to stop a 16-0 UNI run.
The Panthers responded with back-to-back 3-pointers by Ali Farokhmanesh to take control of the game and Drake never recovered.
Phelps said that the Panthers’ physical play on defense caused problems for the Bulldog attack.
“Over the course of the game when you play that physical style of defense, it takes its toll,” Phelps said. “We tried to get to the free throw line as much as possible, but we didn’t get there as much as we like.”
Northern Iowa had an answer for every Drake threat and dominated every facet of the game in the second half. The Panthers outscored Drake 26-6 in the paint, 15-4 off of second chance points and 9-0 on fast break points. The Bulldogs were also outrebounded 36-26. Drake’s 40 points is the second fewest all-time in an MVC tournament game.
“UNI is a great team; you have to give them a lot of credit,” senior Craig Stanley said. “They aren’t No. 2 in the nation in defense for no reason.”
Young had nine points in his final game at Drake and Wedel added eight. Missouri Valley Player of the Year Adam Koch had 10 points and seven rebounds to lead Northern Iowa. MVC Sixth Man of the Year Lucas O’Rear made his mark off the bench with eight points and eight rebounds.
Seniors Young, Stanley, Adam Templeton and Bill Eaddy took the court for the final time as Bulldogs.
“There were already a few tears dropped in the locker room,” Templeton said. “I’ve had a remarkable time here at Drake University.”
Drake finished the season at 14-19.
Young net buzzer beater, third SIU win
DRAKE 63, SIU 61
Just call him the Michael Jordan of Des Moines. Now Drake has its own version of “The Shot.”
Senior Josh Young knocked down a fade-away jumper over Tony Freeman with 1.5 seconds left to give Drake a 63-61 victory over Southern Illinois in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday in St. Louis, Mo.
It was a career-defining shot for Drake’s all-time leading scorer as the Bulldogs defeated the Salukis for the third time this season. Head Coach Mark Phelps said when the game was tied he knew who was going to get the ball for the final possession.
“There was no question at all who was going to take the last shot,” Phelps said. “We did what we needed to down the stretch.”
Young, modest as always, attributed his success to his teammates and said it was important not to leave too much time on the clock for Southern Illinois.
“I just continue to believe in myself and (my teammates) found me,” he said. “We’ve been in that situation before where we left too much time.”
The final shot was not the only clutch shot Young hit. With Drake trailing for much of the game and facing a 51-41 deficit with 8:41 on the clock, the Bulldogs appeared headed for yet another first-round exit.
But it was junior Ryan Wedel who was the most potent offensive threat for Drake. His third 3-pointer of the second half cut the lead to seven.
Senior Craig Stanley, who finished with 11 points and five assists off the bench, made two free throws to make it 51-46 and then fed senior Adam Templeton for a layup in transition to cut the Saluki lead to three.
Young, who was 1-of-9 from the floor at the time, nailed consecutive treys to tie the game and subsequently give Drake the lead at 54-51 with 5:15 remaining.
“We faced adversity again in the second half down 10,” Phelps said. “You can’t say enough about our team.”
Southern Illinois responded with two baskets by Carlton Fay to regain the lead. Fay led the Salukis with 14 points. Wedel responded with yet another long ball from beyond the arc to put Drake up two.
Southern Illinois tied the game at 57 with a free throw from Kevin Dillard, but Stanley responded with two driving layups.
A Gene Teague put-back with 34 seconds left tied the game at 61 to set up Young’s heroics.
“I try to remain calm and poised in those situations,” Young said. “I’ve dreamed about hitting a shot like that.”
Young finished with 14 points while Wedel had a team-high 19. Templeton added 11 points, and Teague had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Southern Illinois.
Drake dropped down 17-7 in the first half with 8:49 left, but battled back to cut the lead to 27-25 at the break.
A Wedel trey to open the second half gave the Bulldogs their first lead. Senior Bill Eaddy, giving up 81 pounds to the 6-foot-9, 290-pound Teague, played valuable minutes off the bench to neutralize Southern Illinois’ most potent low-post threat.
Drake shot 60.9 percent from the floor in the second half to overcome a game in which they were outrebounded 40-26. Southern Illinois also had the advantage on points in the paint 36-14, and on second chance points, 15-1.
“I’m proud of our guys in terms of effort, energy and togetherness,” Phelps said.
