DES MOINES (DU) — Seth VanDeest led Drake for the second straight game with 19 points to help the Drake men’s basketball team edge North Carolina Central, 72-69, Wednesday evening at the Knapp Center.

During the final eight minutes, neither team led by more than four points as the Bulldogs (5-5) and Eagles (5-6) went basket-for-basket before Ben Simons hit a three pointer with 2:47 left in the game to put Drake up, 66-65. Simons finished with 16 points and four three-pointers.

NCCU answered with a free throw to briefly tie the game before the Bulldogs went to VanDeest for back-to-back layups in the paint to take a four-point, 70-66, lead with 47 seconds left. The junior from Bettendorf, Iowa, was 6-of-9 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.