Field Level Media
Feb 14, 2021
Tremell Murphy had 17 points and Drake overcame a 10-point, second-half hole in Sunday's 51-50 overtime victory against No. 22 Loyola Chicago in a clash of Missouri Valley Conference leaders in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Bulldogs (20-2, 11-2 MVC) salvaged a split of the weekend series after losing to the Ramblers (18-4, 13-2) on Saturday, 81-54.
D.J. Wilkins scored 11 and Roman Penn added 10 for Drake, which played its second straight game without leading scorer ShanQuan Hemphill (14.1 points per game) due to a broken foot. The Bulldogs shot just 33.3 percent but scored 22 points off 19 Loyola turnovers.
Drake trailed 48-47 in overtime, but consecutive baskets from Murphy and Darnell Brodie put the hosts up to stay.
The Bulldogs beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2013.
Cameron Krutwig had 11 points and 14 rebounds for Loyola, which saw its 11-game winning streak end.
The Ramblers shot 35.1 percent for the game. They were 1-for-10 from 3-point range after the first half (4-for-19 overall) and made only one of their seven shots in the extra session.
Loyola led 25-22 at halftime.
A 9-0 run put the Ramblers up 42-32 with less than eight minutes to play. But the Bulldogs took advantage of poor Loyola shooting -- 8 of 23 in the second half -- to close regulation on a 13-3 run. Penn's driving layup with 1:26 left in regulation tied the score at 45-45, where it remained going to OT.
The first 20 minutes Sunday proved to be a game of spurts. Drake scored the first six points, then went cold as Loyola scored the next eight. An 11-0 stretch, highlighted by six points from Krutwig and a 3-pointer from Aher Uguak (11 points), gave the Ramblers a 23-14 lead with 4:27 left in the opening half.
Drake closed the first half on an 8-2 run to get within three at halftime.
--Field Level Media