Drake men’s basketball’s Tucker DeVries scored 34 points in victory over Southern Illinois

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Drake men’s basketball team pulled away at the end of the first half and earned a 76-58 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday night.

“I thought we had great execution on the offensive end taking advantage of some mismatches,” Drake coach Darian DeVries said. “Defensively, we did an unbelievable job on Xavier Johnson. Our defense was really connected tonight, stringing together some stops. I liked the overall performance and we were able to extend the lead in the second half. This was a really good road win.”

Drake (14-3, 5-1 Valley) led by 11 at halftime and snapped Southern Illinois’ six-game winning streak. SIU is 12-5 and 4-2. Drake has won eight of the last nine meetings against Southern Illinois, including the last three games.

Tucker DeVries led all scorers with 34 points for the fifth 30-plus scoring performance of his career. He scored 20 points in the second half. Darnell Brodie ripped down 12 boards to mark his third double-digit rebounding game this season.

Atin Wright and Kevin Overton added 10 points apiece for Drake.

“Southern Illinois had a great crowd and atmosphere for two great teams,” Tucker DeVries said. “Our guys were locked in and ready for the challenge. We battled for 40 minutes which has been our theme.”

Drake maintained a share of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference with Indiana State. All five of Drake’s conference wins have been in double figures.

The Bulldogs will get back on the road for a visit to Illinois State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Drake sports information department contributed this report.