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No. 21 Drake faces Indiana State in MVC quarterfinals

Mar 7, 2008 - 11:39 AM Indiana St (15-15) vs. No. 21 Drake (25-4) 1:05 pm EST

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Fresh off its regular-season championship, No. 21 Drake opens play in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Friday against Indiana State.

The eighth-seeded Sycamores (15-15) advanced to the quarterfinals against the top-seeded Bulldogs (25-4) with a 71-67 victory over ninth-seeded Wichita State on Thursday in an opening-round game. Junior center Jay Tunnell and senior guard Gabe Moore each scored 18 points for Indiana State.

Sophomore guard Marico Stinson leads the Sycamores in scoring at 12.3 points per game.

Drake never has been seeded higher than third since the conference tournament began in 1977. The top seed has won only 10 tournament titles, none since 1998.

The Bulldogs, who have an all-time record of 6-18 in the quarterfinal round of the MVC tournament, have not been to the semifinals since 1993.

Sophomore guard Josh Young is averaging 16.3 points, senior guard Leonard Houston 14.2 and junior forward Jonathan Cox 11.6 and 8.3 rebounds for Drake, which posted a 15-3 conference record - two games better than Illinois State.

Drake swept the season series with Indiana State, winning at home, 75-50, on January 9 before posting an 83-77 road victory on February 2. The Bulldogs recorded a 21-game winning streak during the regular season but lost three of their final six games.