DES MOINES, IOWA -- Junior guard Josh Young (Lawton, Okla.) scored a game-high 26 points, while triggering a late first-half surge that carried the Drake men's basketball team to an 84-73 victory past Georgia Southern in the first round of the Drake Hy-Vee Classic Friday night.

The Bulldogs will face Stephen F. Austin in the championship of the inaugural tournament at 7:36 p.m. Saturday.

Stephen F. Austin overcame a NCAA single-game high 60-point outburst by Ben Woodside to escape with a  112-111 triple overtime victory past North Dakota State in the other first-round game Friday.

Drake, winning its sixth straight game, moved to 8-2, while Georgia Southern fell to 3-4.

The lead changed hands three times before Drake went on 18-8 run to close out the first half, turning a 21-20 deficit into 38-29 lead. Young triggered the charge with eight points.

Owning a 41-33 advantage,  oung keyed an 11-1 run with five points as Drake expanded its lead to 52-34.

Drake unior point guard Craig Stanley (Plano, Texas) achieved a career high in scoring for the second consecutive game with 14 points,  while senior forward Jonathan Cox (Barrington, Ill.) and sophomore guard Josh Parked (Harvey, Ill.) netted 11 apiece.

Junior guard Antonio Hansen came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points for Georgia Southern

Young, enjoying his 11th career 20-plus scoring game, moved into No. 24  on the Drake career scoring list with 985 points. Young made four three-point baskets and grabbed five rebounds while matching a season high with three steals.

He did have his school-record string of 32 consecutive free throws end when he missed his first attempt in the second half.

Drake outrebounded Georgia Southern, 40-33, with senior forward Brent Heemskerk (Grand Rapids, Mich.) collecting a team-high eight rebounds.

The Bulldogs shot 45.2 percent from the floor, hitting 28 of 62 shots. Georgia Southern hit 44.8 percent, drilling 26 of 58 shots.