Drake Bulldogs at Northern Iowa Panthers
· MVC TOURNAMENT - QUARTERFINAL
77 - 56
Penn, Drake light up MVP champ N Iowa in quarters 77-56
The Bulldogs shot 59% and led by as many as 16 before settling for a 43-33 halftime lead. The top-seeded Panthers battled back and three times Austin Phyfe pulled them within two, the last time at 50-48 with 12:36 to play.
Shortly after that, Penn went to work. It started with a pair of free throws at the 10:50 mark. He followed up with a couple of layups and a pair of 3-pointers. After teammate Liam Robbins scored inside, Penn hit another jumper and Garrett Sturtz capped the 18-0 run with a pair of free throws for a 67-48 lead with 2:28 to play.
Drake (20-13), which reached 20 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1971, faces fourth-seeded Bradley in the semifinals on Saturday.
Isaiah Brown's 3-pointer with 2:21 remaining ended Northern Iowa's drought that featured 11 empty possessions with 10 missed shots, a missed front end of a one-and-one and two turnovers after offensive rebounds.
Penn, a 5-foot-11 guard, also had eight rebounds and eight assists. Robbins added 17 points with nine rebounds and four blocks.
Northern Iowa (25-6), which won the first meeting at home 83-73, was led by AJ Green with 19 points, although he was just 8-of-25 shooting. Trae Berhow, who averages more than 13 points, was scoreless. The Panthers were 5 of 25 from distance and shot 31% overall.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 77 - 56 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 77 - 56 |
| 2nd 0:16 | Liam Robbins Defensive Rebound. | 77 - 56 |
| 2nd 0:20 | Isaiah Brown missed Three Point Jumper. | 77 - 56 |
| 2nd 0:26 | Drake Turnover. | 77 - 56 |
Statistics
 DRKE |
 UNI |
|
|---|---|---|
| 27-54 | FG | 21-68 |
| 50 | Field Goal % | 31 |
| 8-17 | 3PT | 5-25 |
| 47 | Three Point % | 20 |
| 15-19 | FT | 9-13 |
| 79 | Free Throw % | 69 |
| 42 | Rebounds | 38 |
| 8 | Offensive Rebounds | 16 |
| 34 | Defensive Rebounds | 22 |
| 16 | Assists | 8 |
| 4 | Steals | 3 |
| 8 | Blocks | 4 |
| 9 | Turnovers | 7 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 9 | Total Turnovers | 7 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 10 | Points Off Turnovers | 4 |
| 5 | Fast Break Points | 0 |
| 30 | Points in Paint | 20 |
| 18 | Fouls | 20 |
| 21 | Largest Lead | 2 |
Game Information
Location: St. Louis, MO
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 |