DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake men's basketball team made enough plays at the end to pull out a 77-71 victory over a gritty Texas Southern team at the Knapp Center on Saturday night.

"I'm still proud of the guys for coming away with the win," head coach Darian DeVries said. "We're in the middle of the process. We have to figure out ways to get better every day."
Coming off a third-place finish in the Cayman Islands Classic, the Bulldogs (5-1) closed the first half with a 24-4 run to take a 43-30 lead, then found themselves scrambling from behind in the second half as they tried to contain the Tigers' hot-shooting guard, PJ Henry.

Trailing 69-68 with 4 minutes left, Drake held Texas Southern (0-6) without a field goal the rest of the way and finally went ahead to stay when Darnell Brodie worked his way under the basket and made a reverse layup with 3:18 remaining.  After a stop on the defensive end, Colby Garland drove into the lane and hit a turnaround jumper for a 72-69 lead with 2:37 to go. That proved to be the cushion the Bulldogs needed.

Tucker DeVries made it 74-70 with a tough fadeaway from the left side. He got fouled on the next trip down the floor and made the first free throw. When he missed the second, Nate Ferguson ran down the rebound, got fouled and sank two free throws to make it 76-70 with 19.5 seconds left and the Bulldogs escaped a team that was playing the sixth of nine straight games away from home to open the season.

Brodie, who was active around the basket all night, led the Bulldogs with 16 points, making 6-of-10 shots, sinking all four of his free throws and pulling down six rebounds. He also handed out three assists on some slick give-and-go plays. DeVries finished with 14 points, Atin Wright scored eight and Ferguson had seven.

Henry, the preseason player of the year in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, led Texas Southern with 27 points, making 10-of-19 shots and going 7-for-10 from deep. The Tigers shot 66.7 percent in the second half to make it a game after it seemed that Drake was on the verge of taking complete control.

Texas Southern had its way on offense at the start, mixing in a couple of jumpers, two driving layups and four 3-pointers from Henry in jumping to a 26-19 lead.

The Bulldogs then tightened things up on the defensive end and the offense kicked into high gear, rattling off 12 straight points to move in front. Brodie figured prominently in that burst, scoring inside on a feed from Garland, sinking two free throws and beating the shot clock with a fadeaway along the baseline off an inbounds pass.

When Garland pulled up for a jumper 30 seconds later, the Bulldogs led 31-26 and were just getting started. A free throw and Grayson Carter's 3-pointer broke the Texas Southern drought, but the Bulldogs came right back with another 12-0 spurt to finish the half.

DeVries sank a free throw and Carlos Rosario slipped inside for a putback when Tucker missed his second shot. Ferguson then scored on a nice putback, Conor Enright buried a 3 from the top of the key – Drake's only make from distance in the game – Ferguson beat everyone down the floor for a layup and DeVries scooped in a shot just before the buzzer for the 43-30 lead.

The Drake defense was so effective that Texas Southern made only one of its last 14 shots in the half after starting 10-for-18. But the Tigers regained their touch and made it a game in the second half.

"We are continuing to grow together," Darian DeVries said. "Winning is hard because everybody wants to. What separates you from everybody else to get you in that position? We have to work on the little things the most."

Drake will get its first taste of Missouri Valley Conference play the next time out, traveling to Valparaiso for a game on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs are the preseason favorite to win the league.

TEAM NOTES

• Drake's 77 points were the fewest it has scored in a win this season and the fewest in a win since beating Bradley 77-51 for the MVC Tournament title last March.
• The Bulldogs out-rebounded Texas Southern 39-28 overall and 26-17 on the defensive glass.
• Both teams distributed 13 assists.
• The Bulldogs are 4-0 this year and 96-13 under Darian DeVries when leading at halftime.
• Drake has won 40 consecutive non-conference home games.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Darnell Brodie led Drake's scoring effort with 18 points, a new season-best and his fourth double-figure outing in five games this season.
• Brodie also set or matched season highs in field goals made (7), field goal attempts (11), free throws made (5), assists (3), blocks (1), and minutes played (30).
• Tucker DeVries was Drake's only other double-digit scorer with 16 points in a season-high 38 minutes of action.
• DeVries also led the Dogs with seven rebounds.
• Nate Ferguson and Atin Wright added nine points and five rebounds apiece, 
• Ferguson also matched his most efficient charity performance with five free throws on six attempts. His nine points marked a new season high.
• Colby Garland dished out a team-high four assists.
• Connor Enright finished with five points and made Drake's only three-point basket. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Drake leads the all-time series against Texas Southern, 3-0, with today being the first meeting between the two teams since 2010.
• All three wins over the Tigers have taken place in Des Moines.