Drake 77, Illinois St. 60

Published Jan. 15, 2012 10:36 p.m. ET

foxsports

Ben Simons scored 21 points Sunday night and Drake won its third in a row, beating Illinois State 77-60.

Rayvonte Rice added 14 points, Kurt Alexander scored 13 and Kraidon Woods had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs (11-7, 4-3 Missouri Valley), who are 9-1 at home.

Drake only trailed after Illinois State scored the first basket, then the Bulldogs ran off eight straight points. Simons had 15 points in the first half and Drake led 41-33 at the break.

Nic Moore led Illinois State (11-7, 3-4) with 12 points. Jon Ekey and Tyler Brown added 11 for the Redbirds, who have lost three straight. Bryant Allen, who had 29 points on Friday in an 87-78 loss to No. 23 Creighton, was held to six points on Sunday.