DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.  -- Clinging to a 61-56 lead with 27 seconds left, Drake's Josh Young decided to take matters into his own hands.

The All-Missouri Valley Conference senior guard had an assist, a key rebound and sank two free throws down the stretch to lead the Bulldogs to their first victory of the season with a 65-58 decision past Georgia State in the Glenn Wilkes Classic Friday.

Young finished with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists earning accolades from second-year Drake coach Mark Phelps.

"That was the best floor game Josh (Young) has played since I've been at Drake," said Phelps. "He made the right play time after time down the stretch. He was a leader out there and played a great floor game for us."

The Bulldogs shot a season-high 59.5 percent from the floor, making 22 of 37 shots, while holding Georgia State to just 32.8 percent from the field.

Junior transfer guard Ryan Wedel paced a balanced Drake scoring attack with 15 points. Freshman center Seth VanDeest contributed a career-high 13 points, while blocking two shots.

Freshman forward Ben Simons added 10 points for the Bulldogs.

"I just took it upon myself to help close out the game," said Young. "I was glad to be able to help out. But it was a collective team effort."

A layup by VanDeest gave Drake a 4-2 lead it never relinquished while igniting a 7-0 run.

A three-point basket by Wedel and a layup by Young gave Drake its first double-digit advantage at 18-7.

Drake's newcomers outscored the entire Georgia State team in the first half by accounting for 30 points.

Wedel had 11 points in the first half as the Bulldogs shot a sizzling 63.6 percent from the floor (14-22) to enjoy a 35-27 lead. Simons had eight and VanDeest scored six, while freshman reserve Aaron Hawley tallied five points for Drake.

With six different players scoring to open the second half, Drake built its lead back up to 45-35 following a basket by VanDeest with 13:41 left.

A jumper from the left baseline by VanDeest, off a feed from Young, gave Drake its biggest lead of the game at 55-37 with 6:54 left.

 "Josh (Young) got in the lane today and he was able to open things up," said VanDeest. "He did a good job of getting everyone involved."

Besides Young, Phelps lauded the efforts of senior forwards Adam Templeton and Bill Eaddy and senior guard Craig Stanley.

Templeton and Wedel led Drake with five rebounds apiece. Eaddy came off the bench to score seven points.

"We battled today and it was our older guys who paved the road down the home stretch," Phelps said. "We shoot extremely well. Seth VanDeest had a good game against a very physical and athletic team. Right now our offense is carrying the team.

"But we had a much better defensive effort today and this win was a confidence booster for our young team."

Trailing 59-44 with 2:17 left, Georgia State used a 12-2 run to pull within 61-56 with 42 seconds left following two free throws by Joe Dukes.

That is when Young took over.

Drake will face Akron at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.