DES MOINES, Iowa – A strong second half propelled the Drake University men's basketball team to an 86-73 exhibition win over Minnesota Crookston Saturday, Nov. 4, afternoon in the Knapp Center. Four Bulldogs hit double figures in points with junior Nick McGlynn (Stoughton, Wis.) leading the way with 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting in the team's public debut under first-year head coach Niko Medved.
 
Drake outscored the Golden Eagles, 51-32, in the second half after trailing at halftime, 41-35. The Bulldogs shot 54.5 in the second half and scored 16 second-half points off of UMC turnovers. Ore Arogundade (Chicago, Ill.) added 14 points and six assists for the Bulldogs while Casey Schlatter (Iowa Falls, Iowa) added 13 points and was one of three Bulldogs with five rebounds.
 
"One of the keys to the game was Ore, in my opinion," said Drake head coach Niko Medved. "We really needed some defensive intensity and he came out in the second half and was incredibly active to spark us. That's where the game broke open for us. His energy was outstanding."
 
The Golden Eagles, a member of the NCAA Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, were paced by 24 points from Alan Hodge.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Bulldogs reversed by dictating the tempo and going on a 14-0 run to take a 51-43 lead at the 15:21 mark of the period following back-to-back three-pointers from De'Antae McMurray (Alton, Ill.) and Arogundade. Later, a 17-3 spurt, capped by a C.J. Rivers' (Cahokia, Ill.) dunk, generated a comfortable 70-51 lead for the Bulldogs with nine minutes remaining in the contest. UMC would get no closer than 13 points for the remainder of the contest to give Drake the comfortable exhibition win.
 
"There was a 12-minute stretch where we moved the ball really well and we did a much better job defensively," Medved said. "The group that ended the first half started that and the older guys came out the locker room and put together a nice stretch to start the second half."
 
The teams combined to shoot 17-of-21 through the first eight minutes of the game with Drake holding on to a 22-21 lead at that point. While the Bulldogs' shooting cooled slightly, Minnesota Crookston's did not as the Golden Eagles went on a 9-0 run to take a five-point, 27-22, lead with 9:25 left in the half. A 7-0 UMC run later gave the Golden Eagles a 10-point, 39-29, lead with 4:35 on the clock. UMC continued to convert on the offensive end, finishing the half shooting 54.8 percent with Hodge pouring in 13 first-half points to give the Eagles a 41-35 halftime lead.
 
"We came into this game and wanted to get some things out of it," Medved said. "I don't think we played well in the first half, but you have to give credit to them [UMC]. Our defensive intensity wasn't where it needed to be but we got what we wanted out of this game. We got challenged and did some good things."
 
The Bulldogs return to the Knapp Center court next Saturday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. for their season opener against Coe College.