Missouri State Starts Strong And Holds Off Drake 69-67 In MVC Tourney

The Drake Bulldogs had battled their way back from a 10 point halftime deficit after their leading scorer, Reed Timmer drove the lane for an and-one with just under two minutes remaining in the opening game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Reed missed the opportunity to put up the Bulldogs by three, and then Bears’ freshman forward Ryan Krekow, nailed his third three pointer of the game to put the Bears up by one with 90 seconds remaining.  Krekow finished with 13 points, 10 coming in the second half.

Missouri State Withstands Drake Rally To Win MVC Tourney Opener

Sophomore forward Chris Kendrix led Missouri State with 21 points, including 5-7 from deep and Dequon Miller shook off a rough shooting night finish with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists for the Bears.

Drake only shot 33% from three in the game, despite coming in shooting closer to 38% for the season, and committed two critical turnovers in the final 70 seconds and then watched Timmer’s  back off the back end of the rim at the buzzer.  Dominik Olejniczak finished with 18 points on 9-13 shooting.  The Bulldogs also got a strong performance from backup forward Casey Schlatter and finished with a career high 11 assists.

Drake sees their season end with a paltry 7-24 record and just 2-16 in the MVC.  No. 7 seed Missouri State will have a quick turnaround as they play today at 7 p.m. EST, they will play the second seeded Evansville (23-8, 12-6).

Article by Nick Vigliotti