DES MOINES, Iowa – A balanced scoring attack and a blistering 61-percent shooting performance propelled the Drake men's basketball team past IUPUI, 73-60, on Tuesday (Nov. 25) night at the Knapp Center.

Freshman Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.), who has led Drake (1-3) in scoring in three of the first four games, had a game-high 12 points. Six Bulldogs scored seven or more points as the team knocked down 28-of-46 shots from floor to help earn its first win of the season.

In his second career start, freshman C.J. Rivers (Cahokia, Ill.) finished with 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting while sophomore Jacob Enevold (Lunderskov, Denmark) scored 10 points as he connected on all five of his attempts from the floor. Jensen added 12 rebounds for his first career double-double along with four blocks.

As a unit, Drake collected a season-best 16 assists. Senior Gary Ricks Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif.) who returned from a three-game suspension had a team-high five assists along with nine points. Freshman Kory Kuentsling (Dunkerton, Iowa) scored a career-high nine points off the bench.

“It felt good to get out there with my teammates and I was happy to help my team get a win tonight,” Ricks said.

IUPUI (2-3) failed to have a player reach double-digits as four Jaguars each scored eight points. Drake's defense held IUPUI to 35.7 percent shooting and its second-fewest points of the season.

“Defense is five people working as one,” said Drake head coach Ray Giacoletti. “We held them to 35 percent shooting, but we need to keep teams off the line, so there's always something to improve on. But from where we came from the last three games, I'm very happy these guys bought in and understand that you can get easy baskets in transition if you can get stops and turnovers.”

The Bulldogs opened the contest hot as they knocked down their first six shots to build a 11-5 lead. All five starters scored at least two points in the initial scoring run.

Drake extended its advantage to 25-13 at the under-eight minute timeout as the Jaguars made just three of their previous 10 shots going into the media timeout. The Bulldogs ended the first half shooting 68.4 percent to take 34-25 halftime lead of.

Drake used a 13-4 scoring run at the beginning of the second half to pull away from IUPUI for good.

“That was huge for us,” Giacoletti said of the run. “Tonight it was all about our defense leading to our offense. How you start the game and how you start the second half usually dictates who wins the game.”

The Bulldogs stretched their lead to as many as 20 points in the second half before the Jaguars pulled as close as 10 points with 1:08 to play.

However, Drake converted its free throws down the stretch to hold off the late IUPUI charge.

Drake travels to the Challenge in Music City in Nashville, Tenn. Nov. 28-30 for three contests in three days. First up is a contest with Valparaiso on Nov. 28 with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m.

Games with Portland (Nov. 29) at 5 p.m. and Murray State (Nov. 30) at 3:30 p.m. close out the tournament for the Bulldogs.