Drake men's basketball falls short in 83-71 loss to Bradley, drops first home game of the season

The seconds were ticking down in the first half of Drake’s game against Bradley on Wednesday. The Braves held onto a lead they’d built in the opening 20 minutes.

But the Bulldogs had closed the gap slightly and needed more points before the close of the first half. With 23 seconds left, Roman Penn attempted a shot on a jumper. He missed and Garrett Sturtz collected the rebound. He handed it off to Tucker DeVries, who tried for 3 and failed.

Penn picked up the rebound and sent it through traffic to DeVries, who let off another 3-pointer, this one circling through the net. Bradley’s Darius Hannah fouled DeVries as he shot, and he sunk the plus-one with 14 seconds left on the clock.

The Braves missed their last effort for points in the half, but held onto a five-point lead.

It was a lead that Bradley never gave up. The Braves continued to move further away from Drake in the second half, and they handed the Bulldogs their first loss at home this season.

Bradley walked away with a 83-71 win over Drake. The Bulldogs fell to 13-6 this season and 4-2 in conference play. Drake faces Northern Iowa on Saturday.

Previously: Drake men's basketball pulls out 60-59 win at Evansville

Bradley can’t stop Sturtz’s rebounding abilities

Sturtz was third in the Missouri Valley Conference for rebounding (7.1 per game) ahead of Wednesday’s game. Tremell Murphy joins Sturtz in the top 15 at No. 11 in the conference with an average of 5.4 rebounds per game.

But Bradley presented its own challenge under the rim. Braves’ forward Rienk Mast leads all MVC players in rebounding, and he’s joined in the top 15 by teammates Malevy Leons and Terry Roberts.

Drake guard Garrett Sturtz drives to the basket between two Mount Mary defenders in the first half of an NCAA men's basketball game on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, at the Knapp Center at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Drake guard Garrett Sturtz drives to the basket between two Mount Mary defenders in the first half of an NCAA men's basketball game on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021, at the Knapp Center at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

So, how did Sturtz perform against some of his toughest competition? He exceeded his rebounds per game average with eight rebounds, and added 15 points. His 15 points were second on the team, behind only DeVries' 17 points.

Darnell Brodie picked up six rebounds, three each on offense and defense. Murphy was limited to just two rebounds against Bradley.

On the other side of the ball, Mast and Roberts each had eight rebounds and Leons had six.

Previously: Drake men's basketball games against Indiana State postponed; Southern Illinois game rescheduled

Bradley controlled the pace of the game

And it worked in the Braves' favor. Bradley extended its lead to 10 points in the first five minutes of the second half, and it’s because the Braves dictated the back-and-forth pace of the game, when they got shots off and from where.

The Braves seemed more in control of where their shots came from. Bradley ran out of shot clock only twice, and the first time was the end of the first half. Bradley made the space and had the time to get off shots from 3-point range. Whether or not all those shots hit their mark didn’t matter. The Braves took enough chances to build a lead that could withstand errors.

This isn’t to say that Drake didn’t play its typical game, with plenty of high-speed transitions and fast-break opportunities. But Bradley had more. That’s not a good sign when Drake is in the top half of the MVC standings and Bradley is in the bottom half.

Previously: Drake forward Darnell Brodie playing his best basketball after moving to the bench

ShanQuan “Tank” Hemphill stays on the sidelines

The Bulldogs were without Hemphill for the third straight game. His absence was felt against Bradley, with Hemphill’s playmaking abilities much needed to break up the Braves’ scoring streaks.

There isn’t much of an update on Hemphill, other than that he’s taking the recovery at his own pace. Drake and head coach Darian DeVries remain cautious, especially after Penn reinjured his foot earlier in the season.

“Tank’s is more just some inflammation … that he’ll continue to work through and see how it comes along,” DeVries said postgame. “It’s really on his timeline. … Tthe goal) is to get him pain-free and then whenever that time frame comes in, make a decision.”

Alyssa Hertel is a college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Drake men's basketball loses to Bradley, 83-71, in MVC battle