CHICAGO, Ill. – Richard Carter's (Detroit, Mich.) career-high 38 points led the Drake University men's basketball team to a thrilling 61-59 win at the University of Illinois at Chicago in Saturday's season opener.

Drake (1-0) trailed by as many as nine points in the first half but rallied to lead for the majority of the second half until UIC (0-1) pulled within one point, 60-59, with one minute to play. A Karl Madison (Springfield, Ill.) free throw gave Drake a two-point lead and a missed UIC three-pointer followed by a layup caroming off the rim preserved the win in DU head coach Ray Giacoletti's first game on the Bulldogs' bench.

“To come on the road, in our first time playing together with a new coach, I think we showed great composure and I'm excited about this team,” Carter said.

Twenty-four of Carter's 38 points came in the second half with the junior guard going 12-of-17 from the field on the evening and a perfect 12-of-12 from the free-throw line while adding four steals. His 38 points were the most by a Bulldog since Lynnrick Rogers scored 38 points against Wichita State on Feb. 28, 1997.

“He [Carter] got us going and he's the guy that put us on his back,” Giacoletti said. “We tried to spread the floor and give him some space to come off ball screens and I had no idea he had 38.”

The senior, whose scoring came with the natural flow of the game, was supported by 10 points from Gary Ricks, Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif.) and a game-high seven rebounds from Chris Caird (Daventry, England). The Bulldogs held a 37-30 advantage on the glass and defensively, Drake answered the bell by holding the Flames to just 39.6 percent shooting despite Marc Brown leading UIC with 20 points on a 6-of-12 shooting night.

Facing a 30-25 deficit at halftime, Carter scored Drake's first 16 points of the second half to give the squad a 41-40 lead with 12:09 left in the game.

“It was great play calling and I was just trying to make plays,” Carter said of the flurry. “I've had to score the ball all my life and I just made a few more shots tonight.”

Drake only surrendered the lead briefly for the remainder of the half and extended it to as many as nine points, 55-46, on a Caird three-pointer with 6:02 left. UIC trimmed that advantage to one point, 58-57, with 2:34 left before Carter responded again with a layup for his final points of the evening to build a small cushion to preserve the road win.

“I couldn't be more proud of them,” Giacoletti said. “We dug ourselves a hole and you appreciate when a team, especially on the road, can dig themselves out of something like that in game one of the season. That's something we can build on.”

Drake returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 12 to open its home slate against Iowa Wesleyan. Tipoff at the Knapp Center is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.