• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Crouch's shot helps Bradley shock Drake

Feb 20, 2008 - 6:34 AM DES MOINES, Iowa (Ticker) -- With its long winning streak halted last week, Drake saw its undefeated run at home go down in another close game.

Jeremy Crouch sank the go-ahead jumper with 11 seconds remaining as unranked Bradley shocked No. 18 Drake, 72-71, in the Missouri Valley Conference on Tuesday.

The clutch shot wrapped up a 23-point effort with six 3-pointers for the senior guard, as the Braves snapped the Bulldogs' streak of 16 consecutive home wins.

"They came in kind of on a mission," Drake coach Keno Davis told the Des Moines Register. "They made the final play of the game and we didn't."

"You've got to give them credit," Crouch said to the paper about Drake. "Their system works. What they've done all season works. It's great to get out of here with a win."

Clinching its first MVC title since 1970-71 with Saturday's 65-55 win at Northern Iowa combined with Illinois State's loss at Indiana State on the same day, Drake (23-3, 14-2 MVC) had its chances to wrap up the contest, leading by 67-57 with 7:11 remaining.

However, the Bulldogs ended up in another tight contest, as six of their last 14 games have been decided by four points or less.

"We had a two- or three-minute stretch where we had a chance to put it away, but they just didn't go down," Davis told the Register.

After a tip shot by Jonathan Cox gave Drake a 71-63 advantage with 4:58 remaining, Bradley rallied with seven straight points, closing within 71-70 on a 3-pointer by freshman Sam Maniscalco with 1:13 to play.

The Bulldogs attempted to answer but Leonard Houston's shot in the lane bounced out. Although Adam Emmenecker grabbed the offensive rebound, Josh Young inexplicably took a 3-pointer after taking a kick-out pass and failed to hit the rim.

Young, who finished with 23 points, should have reset the offense, allowing Drake to take some more time off the clock.

After taking a timeout with 26 seconds left, the Braves (16-12, 9-7) got the ball to Crouch, who drove into the lane, pump-faked and hit an 18-foot jumper after his defender's momentum carried him out of the play.

The Bulldogs did have a good chance to win it, but Emmenecker missed a layup after racing up the court before a loose ball went out of bounds to Drake.

With 4.3 seconds to play, Klayton Korver came off a screen for a jumper from the left baseline that hit the rim. Young rebounded, but his contested fadeaway shot also hit the rim to fall short.

"We just didn't have enough at the end," Davis told the paper.

With those last three shot attempts, Drake ended the game by missing nine of its last 10 shots.

On the other hand, Bradley connected on four of its last five on the way to outscoring the Bulldogs, 12-2, over the final 5 1/2 minutes.

Theron Wilson had 15 points and seven rebounds and Daniel Ruffin scored 11 for Bradley, which played without third-leading scorer Andrew Warren, who broke his hand in a win over Creighton on Saturday.

Despite the absence of Warren, the Braves went 11-of-23 on 3-pointer en route to shooting 47 percent (27-of-57) overall.

Drake added eight 3-pointers on the way to going 45 percent (24-of-53) from the floor.