March 28, 2024

Drake’s second-half rally falls short on the road at Loyola

CHICAGO, Ill. — The Drake University men’s basketball team nearly erased a 13-point second-half deficit in a 64-60 loss at Loyola that again came down the final possession Tuesday evening at Gentile Arena.

With less than 20 seconds left in the game, D.J. Wilkins collected a rebound off a Loyola free throw miss and drained a transition three-pointer with 12.1 seconds left to pull the Bulldogs within two points at 62-60.

Following a Drake (18-12, 8-9 MVC) timeout, Drake’s trap forced a turnover in the corner and gave the Bulldogs’ the ball back with nine seconds remaining.

Drake’s set off the in-bounds pass got the Bulldogs a solid look at a game-winner, but Jonah Jackson’s three-pointer was just barely off the mark. Loyola (20-10, 12-5 MVC) hauled in the rebound to preserve its home win and remain undefeated at home in Missouri Valley Conference action.

“I thought our guys really competed and executed the game plan defensively,” said Drake head coach Darian DeVries. “We crawled back in and gave ourselves our chance. We got the look we wanted, but unfortunately, we just missed. But I’m proud of the guys and proud of the fight.”

The run to cut Loyola’s lead was spurred by Garrett Sturtz, who scored nine of the Bulldogs’ 11 points in a three-minute span to pull Drake within six at 52-46 with 7:18 left. Less than 90 seconds later, Strutz drove to the rim and converted after a Jackson three-pointer to get the Bulldogs within a possession at 54-51. Penn scored on a driving layup on Drake’s next possession to pull within a basket at 55-53 and keep pace for the thrilling final minute.

Sturtz had one of his best games as a Bulldog with 17 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

“Garrett basically said, ‘I’m not letting our team lose,’ and the whole team followed his lead,” DeVries said. “He was tremendous and made winning plays on both ends of the floor, and I’m really proud of his effort.”

Liam Robbins added a double-double for the Bulldogs with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.

Drake shot 47.8 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range, but those percentages could not overcome 21 turnovers that Loyola converted into 22 points.

“We shot it well enough when we had shots, we ran good offense, we just can’t turn it over that much,” DeVries said. “To be that close and turn it over that many times makes it frustrating.”

Those unfortunate turnovers bookended the first half for the Bulldogs as six early miscues led to a scoreless four minutes and a 10-0 Loyola run to put the Ramblers up early, 16-8.

Drake committed four costly turnovers in the final three minutes to allow Loyola to end the half with eight straight points and take a 31-28 lead at halftime. The Bulldogs ended the half with 14 turnovers that Loyola converted into 15 points.

Robbins scored nine of his points in the opening half while Sturtz and Jackson each had six.

Cameron Krutwig paced the Ramblers in the win with 17 points and seven rebounds while Tate Hall and Marquise Kennedy each had 11 points.

Drake returns home Saturday to host UNI in the regular-season finale at 5 p.m. before a national television audience on ESPN2. Less than 500 tickets remain for game between the in-state rivals.