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ST. LOUIS — Tucker DeVries scored 22 points and second-seeded Drake raced to its sixth NCAA Tournament berth with a 77-51 romp against top-seeded Bradley on Sunday in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game.
Garrett Sturtz and Darnell Brodie added 12 points apiece for the Bulldogs (27-7), who were in the title game for the third straight year, losing the first two to Loyola. They last won the MVC Tournament in 1996.
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Brodie’s 3-pointer — his first attempt of the season — as the shot clock wound down in the closing minute was indicative of the game.
The Bulldogs hit 8 of 14 3-pointers and 28 of 50 shots overall, while the Braves, trying to get to their 10th NCAA Tournament, shot 34% (19 of 55).
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Jo’Shon Henry scored 10 points and was the only player in double figures for Bradley (25-9). The Braves entered with a 12-game winning streak, including a 73-61 victory over Drake on the final day of the regular season to win their first conference title since 1996. That game ended Drake’s 10-game winning streak.
“The biggest difference is we had our whole roster,” Drake coach Darian DeVries said. “Our depth was really critical in this game. We have a veteran group and they really, really wanted this game. They’ve been here before and they were really hungry to get this one.”
The Bulldogs are the fifth-oldest team in the country with two of the five 25-or-older players in Division I. But Tucker DeVries, the coach’s son, is just a sophomore and wasn’t around when they got an at-large bid in 2021. Last year DeVries was the MVC Freshman of the Year and this season was the Player of the Year.
“All the guys, but obviously having your son and being able to share that moment with him, I’m incredibly proud of him,” Darian DeVries said.
“It feels good. It’s what you dream of,” Tucker DeVries said. “I’ve come to this tournament my whole life but to be able to do it in my own shoes, it feels so good.”
The Bulldogs had an early 12-0 run to take a 14-3 lead, and later a 16-5 run helped them take a 41-21 lead at the break. Drake was 5 of 10 from 3-point range and 14 of 29 overall in the first half while Bradley shot just 26%.
After that, the lead was never lower than 17 — when Bradley hit a 3 to open the second half — and was as large as 32 after Brodie’s 3.
