DES MOINES, Iowa - Led by 19 points from
Nick Norton and a big second-half run, the Drake University men's basketball team cruised past visiting Coe, 99-58, in exhibition action Sunday afternoon at the Knapp Center.
The exhibition was the Bulldogs' lone rehearsal before officially opening the season Thursday, Nov. 8, against Buena Vista in the Knapp Center at 7 p.m.
Norton was one of three Bulldogs to score in double figures as every available player scored in the exhibition victory. Norton's scoring came on 6-of-10 shooting and a 5-of-6 afternoon from the three-point arc. He also added six assists and three steals. As team, the Bulldogs recorded 20 assists.
"Overall it was a good output form aa lot of different guys," said first-year head coach
Darian DeVries. "A lot of guys off the bench were able to contribute in some way. In general we were solid once we got past the first 10-15 minutes and I liked the way we shared the ball. Coe does a good job in the halfcourt and can put some stress on your with their shooters and our guys adjusted."
Tremell Murphy scored 10 points in his first competition at the Knapp Center along with a team-high seven rebounds to help Drake hold a 42-29 advantage on the boards.
Coe was led by 15 points from Tommy Hook on 6-of-10 shooting while Adam McDermott added 10 points. Drake held Coe to just 34.6 percent shooting in the second half to pull away after a somewhat sluggish start to the contest.
The Bulldogs Made three of first four three-pointers to take an early lead, but just one of the next eight as Coe started to chip away with a 6-0 run to pull within two points at 22-20 with 13 minutes left in the opening half.
The Kohawks show above 50 percent from the field and 55 percent from three-point range to briefly keep pace with the Bulldogs. However, Drake closed the half on a 15-6 run to take a 44-33 lead at halftime.
"I thought we were tentative on both ends and moreso on the defensive end,"
Darian DeVries said. "We weren't quite as aggressive as I would have liked. But I thought we did a great job ending the half and into the second half."
Nick McGlynn scored all 11 of his points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting while three other Bulldogs added six points apiece in the opening period.
Drake used a 10-0 run during a quick 2:21 span in the opening minutes of the second half that eventually evolved into a 27-5 run to take complete control of the contest and empty both benches.
"I thought our defense sparked us and got us some opportunities to get out in transition and get the tempo where we want it," DeVries said. "I though we did a good job establishing some tempo and in the second half we played well on both ends of the floor."
