Roman Penn sparked a second-half rally with 12 points as the Drake Bulldogs shocked previously unbeaten No. 15 Mississippi State on Tuesday, beating the Southeastern Conference Bulldogs 58-52 at the Battle in the Vault in Lincoln, Neb.
With Drake (9-3) down 46-41 in the second half, Penn scored six straight points, including a steal and two layups, to put his team ahead 47-46 with 4:17 to play. After Cameron Matthews hit a layup for Mississippi State to regain the lead, Drake outscored Mississippi State 11-6 to end the game.
A senior guard, Penn made a jumper with 63 seconds left and netted four free throws in the final nine seconds for a game-high 19 points, sealing Drake’s first victory against Mississippi State in three career meetings.
Sardaar Calhoun had 17 points and was 5 of 11 from long range for Drake. Tucker DeVries had 15 points and five rebounds, and Garrett Sturtz grabbed nine boards.
Entering the contest as one of the nation’s five undefeated clubs, Mississippi State (11-1) built its biggest lead at 35-25 with 16:23 to play but struggled shooting the ball thereafter.
Eric Reed Jr. led Mississippi State with 11 points — all in the first half — but the team shot just 7 of 20 (35 percent) in the second half. Overall, it was 7 for 19 from distance (36.8 percent) and 5 of 9 from the foul line.
In its fifth neutral site game this season, Mississippi State — which opened as a 6 1/2-point favorite — started poorly and Drake took advantage.
DeVries made a pair of 3-pointers and Calhoun dropped in another in a span of 2:20 for a 15-6 lead at the 12:09 mark.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State suffered from early poor shooting for the third straight game. The club connected on just 3 of its first 14 shots from the field as it fell behind.
However, KeShawn Murphy’s long trey capped a 10-0 run as Mississippi State gained its first lead — 16-15 — at 8:40. On the other end of the court, its defense held the Missouri Valley Conference school scoreless for a spell of 4:58.
Reed’s trio of 3-pointers over a 67-second span lifted Mississippi State to a 27-21 lead at 5:14. The score was 31-23 at halftime as the teams went scoreless over the half’s final 3:08.
–Field Level Media