Drake basketball drops NCAA Tournament first-round matchup to Washington State
OMAHA, Neb. — Over the last five decades, Drake basketball’s experience in the NCAA Tournament has been limited to first-round losses. In Thursday’s matchup between 10-seed Drake and 7-seed Washington State, the Bulldogs once again saw their trip to the tournament end in the Round of 64.
The Bulldogs forced Washington State into several scoring droughts and leaned on Darnell Brodie early in the second half, but it wasn't enough. The Cougars defeated Drake, 66-61, to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament at CHI Health Center.
Washington State (25-9) will play No. 2 Iowa State (28-7) at 5:10 p.m. Saturday (TNT) for a spot in next week’s East Region semifinals in Boston.
Atin Wright led the Bulldogs with 20 points. Tucker DeVries scored 14, and Brodie added 13.
Washington State held the lead at halftime, but the first 20 minutes were almost even on the stat sheet.
Both teams’ largest leads were by six points. Both went on runs to take or retake the lead: Drake with a 12-0 streak and the Cougars went 9-0. Both shot over 40% from the field and Washington State made just one more 3-pointer than Drake.
The Bulldogs showed glimpses of the gritty play that got Drake to this point.
Drake’s final points of the first half were a picture-perfect example of how the Bulldogs won games all season. Conor Enright toppled to the floor in a battle for a loose ball. He stole it away and tossed it into the waiting hands of Colby Garland, who dished a behind-the-back pass to DeVries.
The Cougars scored in the final six seconds of the half and went to the locker room with a 33-29 lead.
Prior to Thursday’s game, Washington State was 20-0 when leading at half this season.
Second-chance points and points off a turnover pushed Drake to a tie. Brodie threw down a dunk that looked like it might bring down the hoop to give Drake its first lead since 8:13 in the first half.
Brodie scored five points and grabbed four rebounds in the first 4:14 of the second half.
Drake picked up its largest lead of the game – eight points – with under eight minutes remaining, but Washington State refused to go down without a fight. The Cougars went on a 7-0 run to pull within one point and tied the game on two free throws from Isaac Jones.
Kevin Overton ended Drake's drought with a 3-pointer on the next possession.
Drake lost some momentum when Brodie fouled out with about two minutes left. With a two-point lead in the last 35 seconds, Washington State added two free throws and picked up a steal that sealed the victory for the Cougars.
Drake made it to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years. But the Bulldogs are still looking for that elusive first-round victory.
Alyssa Hertel is the 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 basketball loses to Washington State in NCAA Tournament
