DES MOINES, Iowa – Newcomer Sardaar Calhoun got things started with a 3-pointer and the Drake men's basketball team reeled off the game's first 18 points en route to an 80-48 season-opening victory over IUPUI at the Knapp Center on Wednesday night (Nov. 9). 
 
"I loved the urgency we played with," head coach Darian DeVries said. "We were flying around defensively and did not give IUPUI anything easy. Our guys did a good job of communicating and we showed toughness that made IUPUI uncomfortable."
 
The Bulldogs won their seventh straight opener and gave coach Darian DeVries his 96^th victory, putting him alone in third place on the career victory list for Drake coaches. DeVries, starting his fifth season with the Bulldogs, had been tied with Gary Garner.
 
Thanks to the early surge, which included eight points each from Calhoun and Tucker DeVries, Drake controlled the game throughout, allowing the coaching staff to keep everyone fresh and give plenty of rest to those recovering from injuries: Tucker DeVries, Garrett Sturtz and D.J. Wilkins.
 
All 10 players who suited up got into the game within the first 14 minutes and nine of them ended up scoring. Point guard Roman Penn watched from the bench in street clothes.
 
Tucker DeVries, a sophomore, led the Bulldogs with 22 points, the sixth time in his career he has scored at least 20, and matched his career high with eight rebounds.
 
Calhoun, who played at Florida State and Texas Tech before transferring to Drake, scored a career-high 18 points. He made 7-of-9 shots and finished 4-for-6 from 3-point range, tying his career high for 3s in a game. The 6-foot-6 senior reached his career-high point total by kissing a jumper off the backboard from the right baseline with 13:30 remaining. He left the game for good not long after that. 
 
"It felt good to compete," Calhoun said. "On the scout team last year, I got to learn the plays, so I also had the opportunity to get better when I wasn't playing (in games)."
 
Redshirt freshman Connor Enright started at point guard and made a solid contribution with 10 points and a team-high four assists. He went 4-for-5 from the field, including two crowd-pleasing spinning layups in transition.
 
Sturtz added seven points and eight rebounds, while sophomore transfer Eric Northweather and Okay Djamgouz each scored six.
 
IUPUI, which had to restock its roster after a 3-26 season, lost its opener at Iowa State on Monday night. The Jaguars missed their first eight shots, shot just 22 percent (6-for-27) in the first half and finished at 28 percent (18-for-64).
 
Daylan Hamilton led the Jaguars with 12 points.
 
Calhoun knocked down his first 3 just 52 seconds into the game and the points mounted quickly from there. DeVries scored the next six points and Enright hit a fastbreak layup. Calhoun then buried another 3, DeVries dropped in a reverse layup and Calhoun drove for a bucket. Exactly 6 minutes had elapsed, and the Bulldogs led 18-0.
 
Northweather scored his first points as a Bulldog, a 3 from the left corner, to make it 25-5 and Drake led 37-12 after Sturtz absorbed contact on a drive to the basket and sank the free throw to complete the old-fashioned three-point play.
 
Drake led 40-17 at halftime and Calhoun nailed back-to-back 3-pointers from the left corner to hike the lead to 50-21. The Bulldogs would go on to lead by as many as 33 in keeping their coach unbeaten in season openers.
 
Next up for the Bulldogs is a game with Wofford on Monday, Nov. 14 at the Knapp Center. Tipoff time is set for 7 p.m. 
 
TEAM NOTES
•Drake, winning its seventh consecutive season opener, improved its record to 77-40 in season opening contests.
*This also marked Drake's 33^rdconsecutive nonconference home victory.
•Darian DeVries moved into sole possession of No. 3 on the Drake school career coaching victory list with 96 wins, moving past Gary Garner who had 95 from 1981-1988.
•DeVries improved his record at Drake to 5-0 in season openers
•All 10 players who suited up played in the opening 13:58 of the first half.
•Drake shot 54 percent from the floor (27-49).
•The Bulldogs outrebounded IUPUI, 42-32, improving to 74-13 during the Darian DeVries coaching era.
•Drake improved to 42-1 when scoring 80 or more points during the Darian DeVries coaching era.
•Drake improved its record 23-6 on Wednesdays during the Darian DeVries coaching era.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Sophomore swingman Tucker DeVries, the preseason MVC Player of the Year, enjoyed his sixth career 20-plus scoring game, pacing Drake with 22 points including 15 in the first half.
•Tucker DeVries also matched his career high with eight rebounds
•Transfer Sardaar Calhoun scored a career-high 18 points in his Drake debut while tying career highs in three-point baskets with four and steals with two. His previous career highs occurred at Florida State during the 2021-22 season: 16 points vs. Miami, 4 three point baskets vs. Clemson and 2 steals vs. North Carolina.
•Guard D.J. Wilkins entered the game with 14:30 left in the first half, making his first appearance in a Drake uniform since suffering a torn ACL in the first half of the Bulldogs' 2021-22 home finale against Southern Illinois Feb. 26. He missed the last five games of the 2021-22 season, including the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and the College Invitational Tournament. 
•Wilkins, playing in his 128^th career game at Drake, finished with five points, (one three-point basket) and three rebounds while playing 6:33. He did not play in the second half.
•Forward Garrett Sturtz, a grad student played in his 133^rdgame at Drake, collecting seven points and a team-high eight rebounds. 
•Senior center Darnell Brodie appeared in his 102^nd career game, contributing two points and six rebounds, while tying a career high with three blocked shots.
•Redshirt freshman Conor Enright, starting at point guard in his college debut, added 10 points, a game-high four assists and three rebounds.
 
THE SERIES
•Drake, winning its third straight game against the Jaguars, improved its record to 3-1 against IUPUI. 
•This was the first meeting between the schools since Drake earned a 73-60 victory in Des Moines on Nov. 25, 2014.