Drake continues Evansville's MVC plight in 85-80 win

Anthony Murphy posted career highs scoring 20 points and grabbing 13 rebounds and Drake beat Evansville 85-80 on Sunday.

Evansville led 40-34 at halftime before Drake (17-10, 7-7 Missouri Valley Conference) started the second half with a 13-0 run and never trailed again. Sam Cunliffe's 3-pointer with a minute to go brought the Purple Aces (9-18, 0-14) within 72-76 but the Bulldogs made all eight of their foul shots in the last 46 seconds.

Roman Penn scored 19, Liam Robbins 15 and Garrett Sturtz 11 for Drake, which ended a two-game losing streak. The Bulldogs are at .500 in their last eight games.

Cunliffe led Evansville with 25 points, Evan Kuhlman 17 and K.J. Riley 10. Evansville has lost 28 of its last 33 conference games. Their 15-game losing streak includes a 65-60 loss against Illinois State in the first round of the MVC tournament last year.