Illinois State Redbirds at Drake Bulldogs
· NCAA Men's Basketball
67 - 62
Illinois State rallies to beat Drake 67-62
Akoon-Purcell scored 12 points and Paris Lee seven when the Redbirds (8-7, 2-0 Missouri Valley) outscored the Bulldogs 21-6 over the first 10 minutes of the second half to lead by three.
After that, the lead changed hands six times and the game tied five times before Tony Wills' 3-pointer with 1:22 put Illinois State in front 63-60. Lee made four free throws from there while the Bulldogs (5-9, 0-2) missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds.
Drake led 32-22 at halftime as the Redbirds shot just 26.5 percent before intermission.
Lee had 15 points and Deontae Hawkins 12 for the Redbirds, who shot 61 percent in the second half.
Drake's Reed Timmer scored 16 points and had Graham Woodward 15.
Illinois State is 2-0 in the MVC for the first time since 2008-09.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 67 - 62 |
| 2nd 0:06 | DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell Defensive Rebound. | 67 - 62 |
| 2nd 0:09 | Ore Arogundade missed Three Point Jumper. | 67 - 62 |
| 2nd 0:17 | Paris Lee made Free Throw. | 67 - 62 |
| 2nd 0:17 | Paris Lee made Free Throw. | 66 - 62 |
Statistics
 ILST |
 DRKE |
|
|---|---|---|
| 28-65 | FG | 23-49 |
| 43 | Field Goal % | 47 |
| 5-20 | 3PT | 5-14 |
| 25 | Three Point % | 36 |
| 6-11 | FT | 11-16 |
| 55 | Free Throw % | 69 |
| 35 | Rebounds | 33 |
| 12 | Offensive Rebounds | 5 |
| 23 | Defensive Rebounds | 28 |
| 7 | Assists | 10 |
| 4 | Steals | 2 |
| 4 | Blocks | 2 |
| 4 | Turnovers | 9 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 4 | Total Turnovers | 9 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 12 | Points Off Turnovers | 4 |
| 8 | Fast Break Points | 0 |
| 30 | Points in Paint | 30 |
| 20 | Fouls | 17 |
| 5 | Largest Lead | 12 |
Game Information
Location: Des Moines, IA
Attendance: 2,803 | Capacity:
2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | 16-4 | - | 26-6 |
| Bradley | 13-7 | 3 | 21-13 |
| Illinois State | 12-8 | 4 | 23-13 |
| Murray State | 12-8 | 4 | 20-13 |
| UIC | 12-8 | 4 | 19-16 |
| Northern Iowa | 11-9 | 5 | 23-13 |
| Valparaiso | 11-9 | 5 | 18-15 |
| Southern Illinois | 10-10 | 6 | 16-16 |
| Drake | 6-14 | 10 | 14-20 |
| Indiana State | 4-16 | 12 | 11-21 |
| Evansville | 3-17 | 13 | 7-25 |