Normal, IL (Sports Network) - Leonard Houston scored a game-high 22 points, as 15th-ranked Drake outlasted Illinois State, 73-70, at Redbird Arena.

Josh Young tallied 18 points for the Bulldogs (21-1, 12-0 MVC), who have reeled off 20 straight wins. Adam Emmenecker chipped in with 14 points and eight assists, and Klayton Korver added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

Dom Johnson finished with 17 points and eight assists to pace the Redbirds (16-7, 8-4), who have dropped two of three. Osiris Eldridge had 16 points and six rebounds, while Anthony Slack donated 10 points and pulled down 10 boards in the loss.

The contest remained close down the stretch, as both teams traded baskets. The Redbirds were down by two, 70-68, following a jumper by Johnson. Houston made 1-of-2 from the foul line to make 71-68 with 37 seconds left on the clock.

After Jonathan Cox sank 1-of-2 free throws, Johnson's layup cut Illinois State's deficit to 72-70. Jacob Baryenbruch then converted 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to give the Bulldogs a three-point lead with 12 seconds remaining.

Drake held on for the win, as Levi Dyer's attempt from beyond the arc came up short.

The Redbirds scored the first five points of the contest and raced out to a 14-5 lead before the game reached the five-minute mark. But Drake later used a 13-6 run, capped by a Brent Heemskerk layup, to trim its deficit to 24-21.

Johnson knocked down a trey to push the lead back to double digits, 31-21, with 6:16 left, and the Redbirds carried a 38-29 advantage into the break.

Trailing 52-45 about eight minutes into the second half, Young drained consecutive threes to ignite a 12-0 run for the Bulldogs. Emmenecker's jumper capped the flurry and gave Drake a 57-52 lead with 9:09 remaining.