DES MOINES, Iowa -- Career-best performances by Okay Djamgouz and Tucker DeVries helped propel the Drake University men's basketball team to an 80-54 victory over UT Martin at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 19).
 
They were among five Drake players who scored in double figures in the hastily arranged game as the Bulldogs improved to 8-4 on the season with their 30th straight home victory in nonconference play.
 
The Chicago State at Drake men's basketball game originally scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 19 was postponed due to health and safety protocols within the Chicago State men's basketball program. Drake replaced Chicago State on the schedule with UT-Martin. The Skyhawks were originally supposed to play at Evansville on Saturday (Dec. 18), but that matchup was canceled.
 
"We were very fortunate to come up with a game on short notice," head coach Darian DeVries said. "It was a great opportunity to continue to work and improve. There were some good things during stretches today that can really help us."
 
The Bulldogs got off to a slow start in both halves, but got rolling once they righted themselves and broke the game open with three big runs.
 
Drake missed its first five shots and committed a couple of turnovers as UT Martin (4-8) jumped to a 10-2 lead. The Bulldogs then held the Skyhawks to one basket over the next 7 1/2 minutes and went on a 24-3 run in which seven different players scored.
 
Hemphill started the burst by converting a three-point play off a high-arching shot from the baseline and finished it with two dunks -- the first on a lob for Akinwole and the second on a nice feed from DeVries, putting the Bulldogs in front 26-13.
 
Drake led 43-25 at halftime, then stalled at the start of the second half and UT Martin sliced the lead down to 43-32. It got no closer.
 
DeVries fed Brodie for a layup and the Bulldogs took off again, scoring 15 of the next 17 points to open a 58-34 lead. Sturtz finished that run with a two-handed dunk, the ball bouncing up before dropping through the basket. A 10-0 run that featured five points each from DeVries and Djamgouz gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead, 76-46.
 
Djamgouz, a sophomore from Toronto, Canada, came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points with his parents watching from the stands. He knocked down 5-of-7 shots, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range and made both his free throws. DeVries, a freshman, also scored 15, handed out a career-high seven assists and pulled down six rebounds.
 
Darnell Brodie added 12 points, his third straight game in double figures, while ShanQuan Hemphill and Ayo Akinwole each scored 10. Garrett Sturtz contributed seven points to go with a team-best nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. It's fifth game the 6-foot-3 senior has led the team in rebounding.
 
"Ayo and Okay gave us a great spark off of the bench," DeVries said. "I liked the way the ball moved today. Defensively, we are getting more connected and covering for one another."
 
Drake finished with a season-high 19 assists, made 12 steals and held UT Martin, which did not return a single player from last season, to 35 percent shooting. KJ Simon led the Skyhawks with 13 points.
  
TEAM NOTES
•Drake improved to 8-4 entering a Wednesday game with Saint Louis that will be played in Las Vegas, Nev.
•The Bulldogs earned their 10^thconsecutive home win
•This also marked Drake's 30^thstraight home nonconference win
•This marked Darian DeVries 78^thcareer coaching victory at Drake, moving him all alone in sixth place on the school's all-time coaching victory list
•Drake moved to 25-4 in December under DeVries.
•Drake collected a season-high assists 19, bettering the previous best of 16 in the season opener against Coe.
•This marked the third time Drake had five or more players score in double figures.
•Drake employed its fourth different starting lineup of the season with D.J. Wilkins, ShanQuan Hemphill, Garrett Sturtz, Darnell Brodie and Tucker DeVries.
•Drake outrebounded UT Martin, 40-32, to improve its record to 7-0 when outrebounding opponents this year.
•Drake collected 12 steals, marking the fourth time the Bulldogs have collected 10 or more steals in a game this season.
•The Bulldogs also improved their record to 33-1 under coach Darian DeVries when scoring 80 or more points in a game.
•Drake's 43 points in the first half marked the fourth time this season the Bulldogs had scored 40-plus points in the first half.
•Drake shot 53.6 percent (15-28) en route to a 43-25 halftime lead, marking the eighth time this season the Bulldogs have shot 50 percent or better in any half this season including the third time in the first half this season (also vs. Coe, North Texas).
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Freshman Tucker DeVries, enjoying his sixth straight double-figure scoring game (10^th overall), scored 15 points. He also had a career-high seven assists.
•Sophomore Okay Djamgouz, appearing in just his sixth game of the season, playing 20 minutes 54 seconds and responded with a career-high 15 points including a career-high three three-point baskets.
•Darnell Brodie enjoyed his third straight double-figure scoring game with 12 points, including eight in the first half.
•Forward ShanQuan Hemphill and reserve guard Ayo Akinwole added 10 points apiece. Akinwole also tied a career high with three steals, while tying a season high with two three-point baskets.
•Sophomore Nate Ferguson added eight points, while tying a career high with two blocked shots.
•Garrett Sturtz led the Bulldogs in rebounding for the fifth time this season with nine rebounds.
•Hemphill is shooting 56.8 percent (25-44) over the last five games.
 
THE SERIES
•This was the first meeting between the schools.