TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The Drake University men's basketball team remained in first place and undefeated in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a hard-fought 75-72 win at Indiana State Saturday, Jan. 6, afternoon. Senior De'Antae McMurray (Alton, Ill.) led the Bulldogs with a season-high 25 points while Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) added 18 points. Timmer added pair of critical three-pointers in the second half along with a pair of free throws to seal the Bulldogs' second conference road win of the season.
 
Drake (10-7, 4-0 MVC) held a 10-point, 39-29, halftime lead that Indiana State nearly erased in the second half. However, the resilient Bulldogs answered every Sycamore charge to cling to a narrow lead throughout much of the second half.
 
"Every time they [Indiana State] made a run, our guys found a way to make a play and withstand that," said Drake head coach Niko Medved. "We stuck together and found a way to get a huge road win."
 
Indiana State (7-9, 2-2 MVC) was led by Brenton Scott's 25 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the three-point arc with the Sycamores connecting on nine three-pointers on the day. Drake held the Sycamores to 42.6 percent shooting to continue the Bulldogs' resurgent defensive efforts.
 
"We knew that Indiana State was going to be ready to play, but our guys had a great approach on the defensive end and that was the difference for us," Medved added. "When you come in on the road, you have to defend."
 
The Sycamores opened the second half with a 7-0 run to nearly erase a 10-point deficit before Drake responded to stretch its lead back to seven points.
 
However, Indiana State capitalized on brief defensive lapses to mount an 8-2 charge and make it a 1-point, 49-48, game with 10:47 remaining, forcing Drake to take a timeout to refocus its efforts. Drake rolled out of the timeout with six-straight points, but that didn't slow down the Sycamores as they again pulled within one point, 60-59, on a Brandon Murphy dunk followed by a free throw.
 
Drake's Timmer answered that charge with 5-straight points to give Drake a cushion and set up a thrilling final four minutes in which the Bulldogs staved off every Indiana State advance. Timmer was instrumental in the defense of that lead as he buried a three-pointer with 2:22 left to put the Bulldogs up 70-64 and with two seconds remaining in the game he calmly drained a pair of free throws for the final, 75-72, advantage to seal the Bulldogs' fifth-straight win. Those free throws were critical after ISU's Jordan Barnes hit a three-pointer with four seconds left to pull the Sycamores within a point.
 
Timmer started the game as he finished it by scoring six of the Bulldogs' first eight points to give Drake an 8-2 lead that it would not relinquish the remainder of the half. The Bulldogs extended that lead to as many as 14 points, 37-23, with 2:13 left in the half on five-straight points from McMurray. The senior finished the half with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting.
 
However, the Sycamores closed the half with back-to-back three-pointers from Barnes to trim the margin to 10 points and set up their near comeback in the second half.
 
The Bulldogs take their perfect MVC record to Valparaiso for their next contest, Wednesday, Jan. 10. Tipoff for the first meeting between Drake and Valparaiso as MVC foes is scheduled for 7 p.m.