Drake hands No. 15 Mississippi State its first loss, 58-52

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Roman Penn scored 19 factors, Sardaar Calhoun made 4 of his career-high 5 3-pointers within the second half, and Drake beat No. 15 Mississippi State 58-52 on Tuesday.

Calhoun completed with 17 factors and Tucker DeVries added 15 for Drake (9-3), which defeated a ranked opponent for the primary time since 2013.

“I used to be simply excited to get on the market and get a win towards an undefeated workforce going into Christmas break,” Calhoun mentioned. “I simply really feel like we performed collectively at present and every thing was going for us and pictures fell for me.”

Eric Reed Jr. scored all of his team-high 11 factors within the first half for Mississippi State (11-1), which squandered the 10-point lead it held early within the second half.

“We talked a ton about how when you’ve gotten an undefeated document and a rating like that, you’re going to take everyone’s finest shot,” MSU coach Chris Jans mentioned.

DeVries’ floater within the lane put Drake up 52-50 with 1:51 left, and Penn hit a jumper for a four-point lead with simply over a minute left.

A basket by Dashawn Davis lower it again to 2, and MSU had an opportunity to tie or take the lead after Penn missed from in shut. However Drake acquired the ball again with 14.4 seconds left when D.J. Jeffries slipped to the ground as Cameron Matthews despatched a cross his approach and the ball flew out of bounds untouched.

Penn made 4 free throws within the final 10 seconds to safe Drake’s first win over a Energy 5 opponent because it beat Kansas State within the 2020-21 season opener.

“That’s a tricky workforce,” Penn mentioned of MSU, “they usually’re from the SEC in order that they play bodily and have some larger guys. I like the battle we had. I like the best way we got here again second half.”

MSU entered the day having performed the three hundredth hardest schedule out of 363 groups, in keeping with the NCAA, and its eight wins over quad 4 opponents within the NET rankings have been tied for second most within the nation. MSU needed to come from behind within the second halves of its earlier two video games, towards Jackson State and Nicholls.

MSU couldn’t full a comeback this time towards the Missouri Valley Convention preseason favourite.

“Of us which have been watching us know we haven’t been taking part in our greatest,” Jans mentioned. “I hoped that we’d regroup at present towards an excellent Drake workforce. I do know that Drake had their consideration. They knew the preseason predictions within the Valley and the NCAA Event win final yr and all of the returnees. So it wasn’t like our guys neglected them by any stretch of the creativeness in any respect.”

BIG PICTURE

Drake: Drake had come into the sport after two straight losses and left with its first win over a Southeastern Convention opponent because it beat Georgia on Dec. 22, 1973.

Mississippi State: The numbers present MSU is likely one of the finest defensive groups within the nation, however the offense will be sporadic, particularly when the opponent places the clamps on large man and season scoring chief Tolu Smith, who was held to 9 factors.

SCHEDULING REGRETS

Jans second-guessed his nonconference scheduling after the sport, significantly his choices to play Akron in Philadelphia, at Jackson State and towards Drake in Lincoln. The neutral-site recreation was a part of the Battle within the Vault occasion at Pinnacle Financial institution Area.

“I’ve instructed everybody we performed three of those video games that in all probability weren’t the neatest factor that I’ve ever accomplished,” Jans mentioned. “It simply labored out that approach. Clearly, we have been unscathed up till this level. I hoped that we might get by way of it and have a merry Christmas and a contented vacation and all that great things and sit at dwelling undefeated. However sadly, that wasn’t within the plans.”

UP NEXT

Drake hosts NAIA St. Ambrose on Wednesday in a recreation moved up someday due to a winter storm forecast for central Iowa.

Mississippi State opens SEC play at dwelling towards No. 9 Alabama on Dec. 28.

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