DES MOINES, Iowa – Playing for the second time in less than 24 hours, the Drake men's basketball team wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 124-48 romp past St. Ambrose at the Knapp Center on Wednesday afternoon – the largest victory margin in school history.
 
The Bulldogs (10-3) knocked down a school-record 18 3-pointers, racked up a season-high 30 assists and reached the third-highest point total in school annals in dominating their NAIA opponent. 
 
Five Drake players scored in double figures and it was a career high for two of them, led by redshirt junior Okay Djamgouz's 21 points.  Redshirt junior Nate Ferguson added career bests of 17 points and nine rebounds. 
 
"I challenged our team before the game to be a mature team," head coach Darian DeVries said. "We're coming off a big win last night. We came out today and played the way we needed to play by moving and sharing the ball. A lot of guys got minutes tonight and that's good for everybody."
 
Tucker DeVries scored 21 points on perfect shooting – 6-for-6 from the field, including four 3-pointers, and made his only free throw. He also pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds. 
 
Sophomore transfer Eric Northweather scored 11 points, his high as a Bulldog, and made three 3-pointers. He had made only one shot from distance coming in.
 
All 12 players who suited up got into the game and everyone scored at least three points.  One of the most encouraging aspects of the game was redshirt sophomore Issa Samake's first appearance on the court since playing 13 minutes in the Bulldogs' loss to Southern Cal in the 2021 NCAA tournament.
 
Samake, who missed all last season with a knee injury, entered the game with 12:10 and ended up playing 12 minutes. He received an ovation from the crowd when he checked in and finished with eight points, including a sweet follow-up dunk, grabbed seven rebounds, made two steals and blocked two shots.
 
Drake won its 37^th straight nonconference game at home and ninth straight overall at the Knapp Center dating back to last season. The Bulldogs improved to 45-1 under coach Darian DeVries when scoring at least 80 points.
 
The game was moved from Thursday to Wednesday because of a blizzard expected to sock the state with snow, high winds and below-zero temperatures, forcing both teams to play two days in a row.
 
Drake upset No. 15 Mississippi State 58-52 late Tuesday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb.,  then bused back home, arriving at 9:30 p.m. St. Ambrose, located in Davenport, returned home after a 97-89 loss to Trinity International in suburban Chicago, then bused over to Des Moines Wednesday morning for the 1 p.m. tipoff.
 
The Fighting Bees played hard but were no match for the sharp-shooting Bulldogs. Drake shot 65.7 percent in the first half and 62.8 percent for the game. The Bulldogs made nine of their first 13 shots from long range and finished 18-for-37. They made 10 3s in the first half alone to match their season high, which they had reached the day before against Mississippi State.
 
Ferguson went 8-for-10 from the field and Djamgouz was 7-for-11, including 6-of-9 on 3-pointers to match his career high from distance. Darnell Brodie made 4-of-5 shots for eight points and grabbed six rebounds. 
 
Amarey Wills led St. Ambrose (2-9), coached by 40-year coaching veteran Ray Shovlain with 15 points.
 
The 124 points trail only the 162 the Bulldogs put up against Grinnell on Dec. 11, 2002 and 130 against UMKC on Jan. 20, 1971. The largest victory margin previously came in a 110-48 victory over Illinois College on Dec. 9, 1961.
 
Drake rattled off the game's first 16 points and was never challenged. A 13-0 run hiked the lead to 46-14 and the Bulldogs scored the final eight points of the first half to lead 59-22. They started the second half with a 19-4 burst and went on to lead by as many as 78.
 
Drake, which split its first two Missouri Valley Conference games, returns to league play on Thursday, Dec. 29 against Valparaiso. Tipoff time at the Knapp Center is 8 p.m. CST.
 
TEAM NOTES
•Drake, winning its second straight game, improved its record to 10-3.
•The 76-point victory was the widest victory margin in school history, bettering the previous mark of 62 in Drake's 110-48 win past Illinois College Dec. 9, 1961.
•Drake set a school record with 18 three-point baskets, surpassing the previous high of 17 set three times with the most recent occurring against Mississippi Valley State in Des Moines Dec. 22, 2016.
•This marked Drake's 37th consecutive nonconference home victory.
•The 124 points scored by Drake were the third highest total in school history, trailing only 162 vs. Grinnell Dec. 11, 2002 and 130 vs. UMKC, Jan. 20, 1971.
•The 59 points scored by Drake in the first half were the most this season, surpassing previous high of 49 vs. Omaha Dec. 7.
•The 59 points were also the second highest total scored in the first half of a Drake game, trailing only 62 scored by the Bulldogs against Tulsa Jan. 13, 1994, as well as tying for the seventh overall total of points scored in any half of a Drake game. 
•Drake also posted season high with 30 assists which ranks No. 4 on the school single-game list.
•Drake matched a season high with 10 three-point baskets in the first half, equaling the 10 treys it made against Mississippi State Tuesday.
•Drake jumped off to a 16-0 lead - the second largest margin to open a game this season trailing only an 18-0 advantage against IUPU in its season opener.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Tucker DeVries led Drake with 21 points and career-tying 11 rebounds in just 18 minutes, while enjoying his first double-double this season and second of career.
•DeVries made all eight shots. It marked DeVries' 7th 20-plus scoring game this season and the 12th time in his career.
•DeVries made four three-point baskets,  marking the fifth time this season (20th time in career) making three or more three-point baskets in a game.
•Reserve guard Okay Djamgouz scored a career-high 21 points, while tying a career high with six three-point baskets (nine attempts).
•Nate Ferguson came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points, including 13 in the second half.
•Guard Roman Penn added 12 points, making all five shots. He has made nine of his last 10 shots dating back to the second half of Tuesday's game with Mississippi State Penn closed out the win against Mississippi State making four of his last five shots.
•Sophomore transfer Eric Northweather contributed a Drake career high 11 points.
•Guard D.J. Wilkins dished out a game-high five assists. 
•Forward sophomore Issa Samake, making his first appearance since playing 13 minutes against Southern Cal in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, scored eight points in 12:08, while grabbing seven rebounds.