DES MOINES, Iowa – Led by a career-high 24 points from sophomore Noah Thomas (Sydney, Australia), the Drake University men's basketball team raced to an 82-70 win over SIU Tuesday, Jan. 8, at the Knapp Center.
 
The Bulldogs rolled out to a 26-point lead late in the first half and held off a strong second half from the Salukis to improve to 12-4 this season and 1-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
"I was pleased with the outcome and thought the first 20 minutes might have been our best half of basketball of the season," said Drake head coach Darian DeVries. "Our guys were focused and hungry to get a win. We shared the ball offensively and were tough and gritty defensively. Ultimately that was enough to get us to the finish line."
 
Thomas bested his previous career high by eight points on 8-of-15 shooting with four three-pointers and four assists. Thomas' performance was supported by 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists from Nick McGlynn (Stoughton, Wis.) and 15 points and five assists from D.J. Wilkins (Merrillville, Ill.).
 
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 54.7 percent from the floor and 52 percent from the three-point arc. Brady Ellingson (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) also connected on four three-pointers, many in the second half to end Saluki rallies.
 
SIU (9-6, 2-1 MVC) was led by 21 points from Armon Fletcher off the bench and 17 points from Eric McGill in the Salukis' first conference loss of the season.  
For the second-straight game, the Bulldogs came out firing and jumped on the Salukis with a 10-0 lead to force SIU into an early timeout. Drake made four of its first five shots from the field and continued to apply pressure on SIU in extending that lead to 27-9 with 5:54 left in the half.
 
Those final six minutes of the opening half saw a flurry of offense with 29 points between the two teams as Drake took a 43-22 lead at halftime. Thomas scored 11 of his 13 first-half points during that span while Drake's defense held SIU to just 33.3 percent shooting in the opening half.
 
The Bulldogs' only hiccup on the first half were a pair of careless turnovers that allowed SIU to scored five points in the final 18 seconds of the half to slightly trim their deficit.
 
Unfortunately for Drake, that trend carried over to the second half with three turnovers in the first three minutes of the half to help SIU score 10 points during that time. However, Drake's offense continued to score, but seven turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the half helped SIU pull within 10 points 67-57 with less than nine minutes to play.
 
Ellingson answered that charge with a three-pointer for Drake to stretch the lead back out, but SIU remained within striking distance and pulled within nine points, 75-66, on a McGill basket with 2:20 left.
 
Again, it was Ellingson who answered the bell with a three-point on the Bulldogs next possession to return the lead to double digits and preserve the Bulldog win in the waning moments of the game.
 
Drake aims to even its MVC record Sunday when it travels to in-state rival UNI for a 3 p.m. game at the McLeod Center.