The 51-point margin marked the Bulldogs' largest win over an opponent since downing Waldorf, 104-51, on Nov. 26, 2006.  The contest also represented Drake's first 100-point scoring output since defeating Evansville, 101-96, in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on March 1, 2007.

The Bulldogs improved their ledger to 5-6 overall with the triumph, while dropping the Cougars to 3-12 on the campaign.

After Chicago State scored the first basket of the game, Drake rattled off 13 of the next 15 points to assume a 13-4 advantage on a three pointer by senior Ryan Wedel (Minneapolis, Kan./Minneapolis), a lead it didn't relinquish.

Wedel's triple began a stretch of six consecutive three pointers without a miss by Drake and a run of 8-of-10 made baskets, all three pointers, to assume a 34-17 lead with 8:47 left in the half.

The Bulldogs got three, two, two and one triples, respectively, from sophomore Ben Simons (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac), Wedel, freshman Rayvonte Rice (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) and sophomore Reece Uhlenhopp (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale).

On the strength of its eight first-half three pointers, Drake entered halftime maintaining a 46-31 advantage.  The Bulldogs connected on 53.8 percent of their shots from the field and an impressive 66.7 percent (8-of-12) beyond the arc.

The eight triples in the initial stanza tied for the fifth-most three pointers in a half in school history.

The lead continued to swell in the final 20 minutes before Drake exited for the holidays with a 51-point victory.

Rice led all scorers with a career-high 23 points, while Simons, junior Kurt Alexander (Toronto, Ontario/Pine Ridge Secondary), Wedel and sophomore Seth VanDeest (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) joined him in double-figures with 22, 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Simons connected on 8-of-11 shots from the field, including 6-for-7 beyond the arc en route to posting a season-high in points.  Alexander's 12 points represented a career high, while he established a new single-game Drake best for assists this season with eight.

VanDeest just missed his second double-double on the campaign pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. 

The Bulldogs garnered strong performances off the bench from Uhlenhopp (eight points) and sophomore Cory Parker (Aspen, Colo./Aspen), who matched a career high with six points.  Drake's bench helped the Bulldogs outscore the Cougars' reserves, 44-6.

Making his first-ever appearance during the regular season for Drake was redshirt sophomore Greg Whitaker (Fairfax, Va./W.T. Woodson), who cracked the scoring column with a pair of free throws with 2:26 left in the game.

In his return to the line-up after missing eight games due to an elbow injury, redshirt sophomore Jordan Clarke (Rockville, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) snatched two steals, while pulling down a rebound in six minutes of action.

The Bulldogs finished the affair shooting 49.2 percent from the field, while limiting Chicago State to a 34.5 percent shooting mark.

A 19-point, 10-rebound effort from Carl Montgomery sparked the Cougars, while Victor Scott and Hajji Martin added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Drake outrebounded Chicago State in the affair, 45-34, marking only the second time this season the Bulldogs have won the battle of the boards and first since posting a 28-25 rebounding advantage versus Weber State (Nov. 27).

Drake committed a season-low seven turnovers, while forcing the Cougars into 15.  The Bulldogs registered a 22-6 margin in points off those miscues.

Drake returns to action next Wednesday (Dec. 29) as the Bulldogs open MVC play hosting Southern Illinois in a 7:06 p.m. start.