DES MOINES, Iowa — Drake coach Darian DeVries knew the Bradley team that came to Knapp Center on Tuesday night would be a much different squad than the one the Bulldogs throttled a month ago in Peoria.
That message got through to his team. Consequently, Drake is alone in first place for at least one day.
Drake (21-7, 10-5) moved into sole possession of first in the Missouri Valley Conference by one-half game over Loyola and Missouri State with a hard-fought 77-68 victory at Knapp Center before a crowd of 3,061.
The lead changed hands 10 times and it was just a three-point margin with 38 seconds to play.