Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Dwayne Lathan's season-best 24 points proved to not be enough as the Sycamores fell 79-64 to Drake in front of 4,035 fans at the Knapp Center.
ISU fell to 9-3, 0-1 MVC on the season while Drake improved to 8-4, 1-0 MVC. The victory for Drake ended the Sycamores' six-game winning streak against the Bulldogs -- which was the longest for ISU against any MVC opponent.
Lathan led ISU with 24 points off the bench, hitting 8-of-15 shots from the field, including one 3-point attempt. He was also 7-of-8 from the free throw line and added three rebounds and two steals. Joining Lathan in double figures scoring was the play of Jake Odum who had 10 points.
Drake hit the ground running, drilling six of their first seven field goals to race out to a quick 14-2 lead with 16:01 remaining in the first half. After trailing 2-0 early, Jake Odum found Myles Walker open under the basket for a lay-up with 18:46 left before the half to knot the game at two.
The Bulldogs would score the next 16 points to take an 18-2 lead until Odum hit a pair of free throws with 14:11 remaining to make it 18-4.
Dwayne Lathan scored seven consecutive points for the Sycamores to cut the Drake lead down to just 24-15 with under 10 minutes to go before the half. He added a 3-pointer off the an offensive rebound from Koang Duluony at the nine minute mark to cut the Drake lead down to 24-18.
An Odum jumper with 7 minutes left in the first half made it 27-22 in favor of Drake, but the Bulldogs answered with five consecutive points to stretch the cushion back out to 32-22. The Sycamores scored on two consecutive possessions on lay-ups by Mahurin and Printy to cut the lead back down to 32-26 with 3:30 remaining. The Sycamore spurt reach 9-0 on a trey by Mahurin as well as a Lathan fastbreak lay-up off the steal from Carl Richard which cut the Drake advantage down to just 32-31 with two minutes to go.
Drake would add a bucket and free throw over the final two minutes of the first half as the Sycamore defense stood tall and trailed just 35-31 at the intermission.
Printy hit a bucket for the Sycamores early to cut the Drake lead down to just 35-33, but the Bulldogs score nine of the next 11 to stretch the lead out to 44-35. Odum made a steal with 15:25 left in the first half and found Lathan streaking down to the court where he hit a lay-up and was fouled at the 15:19 mark to make it 44-38.
After the Sycamores forced a turnover, Carl Richard grabbed his own miss, and was fouled going back up at the 14:51 mark when he hit both free throws to cut the Bulldog cushion down to 44-40. Lathan answered a Drake score with a steal and a pair of free throws at the 13 minute mark to make it 46-42.
Drake hit a pair of 3-pointers on consecutive trips to take a 52-44 lead with 11:27 left as the treys were sandwhiched around a Lathan putback Dunk.
The Bulldog lead reached as many as 22 points at the 4:15 mark at 73-51. Lathan hit one free throw and then Steve McWhorter nearly completed a rare 4-point play with 3:38 remaining to cut the Drake cushion down to 73-55.
Karl Madison led Drake with 24 points while Rayvonte Rice added 22 and the duo were two of four Bulldogs to reach double figures scoring.
Indiana State returns to action on New Year's Eve when the Sycamores continue Missouri Valley Conference play at Hulman Center against Bradley. Tip-off is set for 1:05 p.m. (ET).
