DES MOINES, Iowa - Drake center Seth Van Deest scored a team-high 17 points, including a 3-point play with 2:55 remaining to give the Bulldogs (7-8, 2-2 MVC) the lead for good en route to a 64-58 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball victory against visiting Bradley (6-9, 0-4 MVC) Friday night at the Drake Knapp Center.
While the Bulldogs stopped a two-game losing streak, Bradley suffered its fourth consecutive loss to start The Valley race.
Bradley senior guard Andrew Warren, the league's leading scorer coming into the game, scored a game-high 20 points and became the 20th player in Braves history to achieve 1,300 career points (he now has 1,303). Senior guard Dodie Dunson added 12 points and shared team-high honors with seven rebounds. Van Deest led four Bulldogs in double-figures. Freshman guard Rayvonte Rice scored 12 points, while Ben Simons (11) and Aaron Hawley (10) combined for 21 points off the Drake bench.
Drake scored the game's first four points and built its lead up to as many as nine points, 26-17, with 1:11 remaining in the first half. The Braves scored the final four points of the half to pull within 26-21 at the break and eventually took their first lead, 35-34, when Jake Eastman scored inside with 14:33 remaining.
Eastman's basket was the first of six lead changes, the last coming on Van Deest's 3-point play. The Bulldogs then benefitted from a four-point possession, all at the free throw line. Ben Simons sank two free throws with 2:37 left following a technical foul on the Bradley bench and Van Deest sank two more charity shots after being fouled by Anthony Thompson for a 58-53 lead with 2:22 remaining.
Bradley managed only two Eastman free throws with 2:08 left and a deep Warren 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining, while Drake hit six free throws in the final 32 seconds to prevent a Braves comeback.
Drake won the turnover battle by a 14-9 margin and took full advantage by outscoring the Braves 18-7 in points off turnovers.
The Braves will complete their Valley swing through Iowa with a Sunday night clash at defending league champion UNI. The 6:05 p.m. game at the McLeod Center will be televised in Central Illinois on WTVP World (over the air channel 47.2, Comcast Digital Cable 218 and Mediacom Digital Cable 121).
