Indiana State men’s basketball gave the MVC’s leader all it could handle but fell short in overtime, 85-81, inside the Knapp Center.
In the overtime period, Drake scored the first two buckets to go up four, 76-72, only 40 seconds into the extra period. The Sycamores battled to score four points of their own with two free throws from Aaron Gray and a dunk from Jaden Daughtry.
Drake came back to score six-straight and led 81-76 with 1:05 remaining in the game. Samage Teel knocked down a free throw and K’mani Doughty drove the lane and made a layup to cut the deficit to a one-possession game, 83-81, with 13 seconds to play. Drake closed out overtime with two free throws to lead, 85-81.
The Sycamores’ offense got off to a slow start, scoring only two points through the first 5 1/2 minutes of the game, courtesy of a Teel layup at the 18:18 mark. This allowed for Drake to get ahead 12-2 before Teel made a three-pointer from the left wing. It was 12-5 after this with 14:25 to play in favor of the Bulldogs.
Indiana State went basket-for-basket with the Bulldogs for a few minutes, but a 10-2 run by Drake gave them a 14-point, 26-12 lead with 10:16 to play. The two points came from a pair of Doughty free throws.
Two-straight baskets by Teel and Jayan Walker brought the Sycamores back within single digits, 32-24, but Drake closed out the half on a 9-5 run to hold a 12-point, 41-29 lead at the halftime break.
Teel scored just over half of the Sycamores’ points in the first 20 minutes, scoring 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Drake grabbed 19 rebounds to Indiana State’s nine, and the Bulldogs recorded 12 assists in the half. Twelve of Indiana State’s 29 points were scored in the paint.
To start the second half, both teams combined to shoot 2-of-9 from the field through the first 4:35, and Drake held a 46-31 through this point of the game.
A 7-0 Sycamore run brought the game within nine points. Daughtry accounted for five points with two layups and a free throw, then Gray capped it with a layup. Drake led 49-40 with 13:33 to play.
With 11:45 remaining in the game, Drake led 55-47 over Indiana State. Gray and Daughtry combined for 13 of the first 15 second-half points for the Sycamores.
A corner three-pointer by Doughty and a dunk by Gray two possessions later brought Indiana State within six points, 55-49, with 10:39 left to play. This was the smallest deficit since the 12:25 mark in the first half. But through the timeout called at 7:36, Drake outscored Indiana State to lead 63-53.
Teel converted banked in a floater and drew the foul with 4:08 to play, then completed the three-point play to bring the Sycamores back within six. Just under two minutes later, he completed another three-point play with 2:23 on the clock and the Sycamores down five, 72-67.
From 5:07 on the clock through 2:23, Teel scored all 10 points for the Sycamores in that time.
Inside the 2:23 mark to play and the Sycamores down five, Daughtry banked in a layup followed by Doughty drilling a three-pointer to tie the ballgame at 72 apiece with 1:05 to play in the game. This was the first time since Drake made its first basket of the game that Drake didn’t have at least a two-point lead.
Drake had two shot attempts in the final 37 seconds to Indiana State’s zero attempts, but neither fell sending the game into overtime, 72-72.
Samage Teel led all scorers with 26 points on 9-for-13 shooting, recording three rebounds and four assists in just over 41 minutes on the court. He made 7-of-9 from the free throw line. Aaron Gray secured a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 5-of-9 from the field and 7-of-8 at the line. Jaden Daughtry scored 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting, and K’mani Doughty finished with 12 points.
News & Notes
- Indiana State’s 81 points is the most that Drake has given up to an opponent all season. It’s the third-straight game the Sycamores have scored 80+.
- The Sycamores shot 82.6% from the line, the best effort since January 4 at Evansville (min. 15 attempts; 88.2% at Evansville).
- Indiana State finished with 11 turnovers for the second-straight game, tying for the season low.
- Shooting 50.9% from the field, it marked the best field goal percentage for Indiana State since December 21 against UHSP (58.3%).
- The Sycamores grabbed 26 rebounds in the game, a season low.
- Both Indiana State and Drake finished 28-of-55 from the field.
- In each of the last three games, the Sycamores have made 28 field goals.
- Samage Teel tied his season-high with 26 points, last done against Murray State on December 18.
- Aaron Gray put up his best two scoring efforts in each of the two Drake games this season. Tonight, he scored 17 and earlier this season on January 18 recorded his season high of 19. He played the most minutes this season of 35:43.
- Gray recorded his third double-double this season and his second in three games, with 17 points and 12 rebounds. His 12 rebounds set a new season high but tied his career high through his 3+ years of collegiate basketball.
- Camp Wagner (42:28) and Jaden Daughtry (31:07) each played the most minutes this season.
Up Next
The Sycamores head to Cedar Falls, Iowa to play Northern Iowa on Tuesday, February 11 with an 8 p.m. tip off. The game airs on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
