ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Junior guard Bennett Stirtz, the Larry Bird Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, added another honor to his resume being named the Doug Elgin Most Outstanding Tournament Player by scoring 24 points to propel top-seeded Drake to its third straight State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship with a 63-48 victory past No. 2 seed Bradley at the Enterprise Center.
Drake joined Southern Illinois (1993-94-95) as the only schools to win three straight MVC Tournament titles with nine straight tourney wins. Drake captured their fourth MVC Tournament title, while advancing to the NCAA Tournament for eighth time, including the third straight year.