GOODYEAR, Ariz. - The Drake University men's golf team carded a 6-under par team score of 282 on the second day of the Loyola Intercollegiate to move into the top spot on the leaderboard heading into the final round.
 
The Bulldogs' 282 was the third-best team score of the day and gave Drake a 1-stroke lead over Loyola Marymount. Drake began the day two strokes behind LMU after recording a first-round 286 in the 19-team event to stand at 7-under par after two days of competition.
 
"We are in a great position and look forward to the opportunity we have tomorrow," said Drake head coach Matt Lewis. "We are going to just focus on ourselves and stick to our game plan."
 
The Bulldogs got a boost from tremendous rounds by Tim Lim and Nick Pittman, who both carded a 4-under par 68 on the 7,015 Palm Valley Golf Club. Their scores tied for the second-lowest rounds of the day in the field.
 
Lim, not only bounced back from an up-and-down first round but additional adversity when his driver cracked 10 minutes before teeing off. Playing with a borrowed and unfamiliar demo driver from the clubhouse, Lim posted a 34 on each nine with three birdies on each side. Lim played the final six holes at 2-under to move up 38 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 16th individually.
 
Pittman also had a 34 on each nine to move into a tie for third after a first-round 71. He enters the final round just one stroke off the lead held by Air Force's Joseph Crisostomo and Delaware's Roberto Nieves.
 
Lucas Scherf, who led the Bulldogs in the first round with a 68, posted a second-round 39-34–73 to sit in ninth heading into the final day. Scherf rebounded from a 3-over finish on the last four holes of the front nine to play the back nine at 2-under.
 
Chase Wicklund completed the Bulldogs' scoring with a 35-38–73 and is in a tie for 28th on the individual leaderboard.
 
Shayne Patel also bounced back from a tough first day to card a 37-36–73 round that included the Bulldogs' only eagle of the day.
 
The Bulldogs tee off in the final round early Monday morning with the other top four teams, LMU (-7), Seton Hall (-5) and Eastern Michigan (-3) at 9:45 a.m. CST.
 
Drake Results
1. Drake, 286-282–568
T3. Nick Pittman, 71-68–139
T9. Lucas Scherf, 68-73–141
T16. Tim Lim, 75-68–143
T28. Chase Wicklund, 72-73–145
T92. Shayne Patel, 80-73–153