CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (Via godrakebulldogs.com)– The Drake men’s basketball team did not stop UNI in transition for most of the game as the Bulldogs were bested by the Panthers, 91-77 inside the McLeod Center on Saturday evening.

UNI (16-13, 10-8 in Missouri Valley Conference play) outscored Drake (23-6, 14-4) on fast breaks by a 25-10 margin and answered every Drake rebuttal throughout the night. 17 of those fast break points occurred in the first half.

“I thought UNI was more aggressive in all areas,” head coach Darian DeVries said. “The offensive rebounds allowed were killers for us in the second half. We didn’t respond the way we needed to for a portion of the night.”

The action in the first half picked up in the final five minutes before halftime after Trey Campbell hit a quick layup for a 35-27 UNI advantage and a Drake timeout. The Bulldogs responded out of the timeout with an 8-0 run to tie the game 35-35, following the sequence of an Overton steal and Garland layup with 3:49 left.

Tucker DeVries had 12 first half points including a nice move in the lane to tie the game, 39-39 with 1:17 remaining in the opening half. DeVries finished with a game-high 28 points on 10-21 shooting from the field.

Nate Heise closed out the first half with a pair of layups as UNI took a 43-39 edge into the locker room at halftime.

Drake came out energized to start the second half with a 6-0 spurt for a 45-43 lead that did not last long. The Panthers answered with an efficient 12-0 run to move ahead 55-45 with 16:54 still to play.

DeVries ducked inside and scooped in a bucket while drawing a foul as the Bulldogs clawed back, trailing 57-53 at the 14:12 mark of the second half.

Once again, the visitors from Des Moines trimmed the deficit to two possessions halfway through the second stanza, but the Panthers always had an answer. Jacob Hutson drilled a wing triple for a 73-65 advantage.

With 7:09, a Heise turnaround jumper pushed the margin back to 10 points and UNI led by double figures for the rest of the game before claiming a 91-77 decision.

UNI shot 55.4 percent (31-56) for the game led by Tytan Anderson’s 18 point and 18 rebound double-double. Heise just missed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds. Hutson was 4-5 from the field, but three of those makes were from long distance.

“The biggest thing is that you can’t let this one cost another one,” Darian DeVries said. “It’s time to refocus and play better.”

Drake will play its final regular season road game at UIC on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Credit Union 1 Arena.

Team Notes

• Drake’s five-game win streak was snapped.
• The Bulldogs fell to second place in the MVC standings with a 14-4 conference record, a half game back of Indiana State entering Indiana State’s game later on Saturday.
• Drake is now 5-5 on the road this season.
• The Bulldogs committed nine turnovers, two less than UNI (11).
• Trailing 43-39 at halftime, the Bulldogs fell to 3-4 this season when losing at the half.
• Drake was outrebounded 42-28, slipping to 9-5 this season when getting outrebounded by its opponent.
• The Bulldogs are 4-3 this season when wearing its alternate gray uniforms and 8-3 during the Darian DeVries era.

Individual Notes

• Tucker DeVries collected a game-high 28 points (16^th 20-plus scoring output this season and 37^th of his career).
• DeVries grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
• DeVries has made 233 career 3-points baskets, just two shy of passing Ben Simons (2009-12) for fifth all-time in program history.
• Colby Garland scored a career-high 13 points.
• Four points and four rebounds are both season lows for Darnell Brodie.
• Atin Wright, who has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games, added 10 points.

The Series

• UNI leads the all-time series, 52-34.
• Drake’s three-game winning streak against UNI was snapped.
• Tonight marked Drake’s first loss at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls since Feb. 8, 2020.
• Drake has still won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams.
• UNI is 30-9 in the series in games played in Cedar Falls.

AMES, Iowa (Via IowaCyclones.com) – In a game where No. 6 Iowa State struggled to score its defense saved the day. Iowa State (21-6, 10-4 Big 12) forced 23 turnovers, including seven in a five-minute stretch late in the second half, in a 71-64 victory over West Virginia (9-18, 4-10 Big 12) Saturday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones went 0-of-6 from 3-point range in the second half but ramped up their defense when needed to remain unbeaten at home at 16-0.

ISU trailed in the second half of a home game for the first time in six games when WVU’s Kobe Johnson hit a 3-pointer to give the Mountaineers the lead at 51-50 with 9:05 remaining.

ISU then suffocated the Mountaineers, who committed seven turnovers, during a critical 14-0 run to put the game out of reach. Tamin Lipsey led the Cyclones with 14 points and six assists and Curtis Jones added 12 points and had two of ISU’s 14 steals, the 15^th time this season ISU has recorded double-digit thefts in a game.

It marked the 10^th time this season an ISU opponent has registered 20 or more miscues.

How It Happened
West Virginia made 4-of-6 shots, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, to race out to an early 11-2 lead. Iowa State began chipping away, however. Curtis Jones came off the bench and knocked down a pair of triples in a 11-1 run to give the Cyclones their first lead.

Keshon Gilbert then scored three baskets and Milan Momcilovic drained a 3-pointer to give ISU a 24-19 advantage with 8:30 remaining in the first half.

After a Mountaineer basket, ISU went on a 7-0 run behind a pair of buckets from Jackson Paveletzke and the Cyclone lead increased to 31-21. Lipsey made a pair of 3-pointers in the final three minutes to help the Cyclones go into the break with a 40-30 advantage.

WVU scored on its first four possessions of the second half to trim the Cyclone lead to 44-40 before first media timeout. Jesse Edwards had five points for the Mountaineers.

When Josiah Harris converted a 3-point play on a baseline drive and Johnson hit a 3-pointer, the Mountaineers retook the lead at 51-50 with 9:05 remaining in the game. It was the first time ISU trailed in the second half at home since in six games (Houston).

But the Cyclones bounced back with stingy defense the next five minutes during their pivotal 14-0 run to move ahead 64-51 with 3:27 remaining.

Key Performer
Tamin Lipsey was 4-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from 3-point range en route to his team-high 14 points. Lipsey also recorded two steals to increase his season total to 73, tying for the third-best single-season total in school history. His 73 thefts on the year are also an ISU sophomore record.

Up Next
Iowa State remains at home, playing host to Oklahoma on Wednesday (Feb. 28). Tipoff is at 7 p.m. CT on Big 12 Network/ESPN+.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The University of Iowa softball team swept a doubleheader against the Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon on day two of the UNF-Jacksonville Invitational. The Hawkeyes took game one, 5-3, before clinching the day with a, 4-1, win in the nightcap.

Sophomore Jalen Adams got the start in game one and picked up her third win of the season going five innings allowing three runs on seven hits and struck out three Dolphins hitters. Freshman Jaylee Ojo picked her first save of her career, tallying five strikeouts in two innings of work.

Seven different Hawkeyes had an RBI on the day led by senior Grace Banes who had two hits, two RBIs and one run scored. Junior Rylie Moss picked up three hits in the doubleheader with one RBI and one run scored.

Junior Devyn Greer had a strong outing in game two with 5.2 innings of work allowing one run and struck out three. Junior Haley Downe picked up her first career win going 1.1 innings to close out the comeback win over Jacksonville.

Iowa was able to capitalize on nine Dolphin errors in the two games.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Game 1 

Freshman Devin Bowman was able to make the first sound for the Hawkeyes in the top of the third with a hard-hit single through the left side to score freshman Tory Bennett. Iowa looked to end a Jacksonville threat in the home half of the fourth throwing out a runner at home, but the call was overturned due to obstruction to allow the Dolphins to tie the game at one.

JU took the lead, 3-1, in the fifth after a few Iowa miscues. Adams was able to work her way out of the inning with a strikeout stranding two Dolphins baserunners.

The Hawkeye bats came to life in the top of the sixth as they plated four runs on four hits. Banes got the scoring started with a single to rightfield to two. Moss brought home another run on a sac fly and freshman Jena Young provided an insurance run on an RBI single to make it 5-3.

Ojo entered in relief to start the sixth inning and worked around two baserunners and recorded three strikeouts.

Despite JU being able to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh Ojo shut the door striking out the final batter to secure the win.

Iowa finished the game with five runs on five hits with no errors. The Dolphins were held to three runs on nine hits and had four errors.

Game 2 

Greer had a strong start once again for the Hawkeyes. Jacksonville opened the scoring in the bottom of the third taking the, 1-0, lead on an RBI single. Iowa responded in the top of the fourth with an RBI from Bennett to tie the game at one.

Both teams were able to scatter a few hits through the next two innings. The Hawkeyes poured on the runs in the top of the seventh. Downe got her first at bat of 2024 and laid down sac bunt to move Bennett into scoring position. Freshman Soo-Jin Berry kept things going with an RBI single up the middle to bring in Bennett. Senior Brylee Klosterman closed out the inning with a sac fly scoring Berry and Young after an error by the JU left fielder to make it, 4-1.

Jacksonville managed to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh but were held to just one run as Downe closed out the game.

Iowa finished the game with four runs on seven hits with one error. The Dolphins were held to two runs on five hits and had five errors.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH RENEE GILLISPIE

“Coming away with two wins today is big, especially after having games rained out for our last three game days. I am proud of how the team stayed composed throughout the games when things weren’t necessarily going our way. A key thing is to make sure we control the things we can control within our circle and with that we will find success the rest of the season.”

NOTABLES

• All nine of the Hawkeyes runs on the day were unearned.
• Senior Sammy Diaz has reached base in the last five games.
• Downe has picked up her first career save and win through nine games.
• Freshman Berry and Bowman picked up their team-leading seventh and sixth RBIs, respectively.

UP NEXT

The Hawkeyes return to action today (Sunday Feb. 25) for the final day of the UNF-JU Invitational. They will face Harvard at 9 a.m. CT at the UNF Softball Complex. Iowa will close out action in Florida facing UNF at 11:30 a.m. in a make-up game from Friday. Both games will be broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Victor Anderson on the call.