DES MOINES, Iowa - Led by a career-high 25 points from sophomore Liam Robbins, the Drake University men's basketball team defeated visiting Mount Marty, 92-74, Tuesday evening at the Knapp Center.
 
The game was Drake's (9-3) final home game of the non-conference schedule as the team went 7-0 against non-conference opponents at home to extend its home winning streak against non-conference opponents to 18 dating back to 2016.
 
Four Bulldogs scored in double figures in the game led by Robbins' career performance. He quickly surpassed his previous high of 23, doing so with nearly 15 minutes left in the second half and finished the night shooting 8-of-12 from the field with nine free-throws. He also added a team-high 10 rebounds as Drake held a 48-28 advantage on the glass for his first career double-double.
 
Those 25 points were followed by a 16-point effort from Roman Penn, a career-high 11 from Antonio Pilipovic and 10 from D.J. Wilkins.
 
"I thought Liam did a great job of establishing himself inside early and often," said Drake head coach Darian DeVries. "We could even thrown it in there more, to be honest. But I thought he was really good Roman had a nice solid game and was able to get downhill and get to the rim."
 
Mount Marty (13-3) was led in scoring by Des Moines native, Jordan Johnson, along with Colby Johnson, who posted 19 points each. Another Des Moines native, Chris King, poured in 17 for the Lancers. Jordan Johnson also led Mount Marty in rebounds with seven and assists with four.
 
Drake got off to a quick start with back-to-back buckets from Roman Penn just 38 seconds into the game. After that, Mount Marty kept it close for a large chunk of the first half, tying the score on multiple occasions, and even taking the lead at 19-18. The Lancers shot 43 percent in the opening half with five three-pointers to keep pace with the Bulldogs.
 
However, Robbins woke Drake's offense up with his 18 first-half points to engineer runs of 10-2 and 13-2 to help the Bulldogs lead by as many as 17 points with less than five minutes left in the half. Despite those runs, Mount Marty answered to close the gap to 10 points, 53-43, at half time. The Bulldogs shot 56 percent from the field in the first half, which aided in posting the season-high 53 first-half points.
 
Drake kept the lead in double figures for much of the second half to allow the entire bench to see action and help the Bulldogs stretch the lead to as many as 20 points late in the second half.
 
Drake finishes non-conference play this week by traveling to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on Air Force. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST. Following that contest, Drake opens Missouri Valley Conference play at Bradley Dec. 31 before returning to the Knapp Center Jan. 4 against Indiana State.