DES MOINES, Iowa – Veteran Tucker DeVries took over in the second half and carried a Drake men's basketball team loaded with newcomers to an 85-70 season-opening victory over Lipscomb at the Knapp Center on Wednesday night.

DeVries scored 23 of his career-high 36 points in the final 20 minutes and accounted for the Bulldogs' first 23 points of that half with his scoring and passing, enabling them to finally get control and win their 38^th straight nonconference game at home.

Just as important was their second-half defense. Drake held Lipscomb (0-2) to seven field goals and 22 points in the final half after the Bisons had built a 48-44 halftime lead, frustrating the Bulldogs by moving the ball well and shooting it even better.

"I think my mindset is to do whatever it takes to win the game," Tucker DeVries said. We really locked in defensively in the second half. It was much easier to score in the second half when we were getting stops."

Newcomer Atin Wright, a transfer from Cal State Northridge, added 15 points, three assists, three rebounds and three steals. He went 6-for-11 from the field and knocked down three three-pointers. Coach Darian DeVries, now 6-0 in season openers, brought in Wright for his scoring and he delivered in his first Drake game that counted.

Redshirt sophomore Conor Enright contributed 13 points and numerous hustle plays. He also had two steals and drew three charging fouls.

Graduate senior Darnell Brodie, beginning his fourth season with the Bulldogs, scored 12 points and led the team with seven rebounds. Freshman Kevin Overton scored seven points in his Drake debut and grabbed four rebounds.

The evening began with the unfurling of the banner recognizing Drake's championship in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament last March. Once the game got going, the Bulldogs found themselves struggling to keep up with the Bisons, who were picked for fifth in the Atlantic Sun Conference this season.

Lipscomb hit 10-of-13 shots, including all four of its 3-point attempts, in racing to a 25-17 lead and then answered every time the Bulldogs closed the gap. Drake held the lead only once in the opening half, at 7-5 when DeVries his a fadeaway along the right baseline, and it lasted only 11 seconds.

Drake shot 54 percent in the first half but still trailed by four because the Bisons kept beating their defenders to the basket or knocking down 3-pointers.

That all changed in the second half. After Owen McCormack hit a trey from the top of the key to extend Lipscomb's lead to 51-44, DeVries stepped up.

First he found Wright in the left corner for a 3-pointer. Then he scored in a variety of ways in rattling off the next 17 Drake points, a burst that included a 3-pointer, an old-fashioned three-point play, an aggressive drive to the hoop and three free throws on technical fouls. Finally he spotted Enright in the left corner, fired the ball to him and Conor buried the 3-point shot for a 67-60 with 8:09 remaining.

Lipscomb kept hanging around until Drake ran off nine straight points to put the game away, stretching the lead to 82-66. The highlight of that run came when Enright stole the ball, charged down the court, slipped and threw the ball into the basket before hitting the floor.

"You practice and practice in the summer and fall," head coach Darian DeVries said. "You still aren't positive how they are going to react to live action. I thought the guys did a really good job of making adjustments in the second half. We played extremely hard and with great urgency. You have a lot of things coming at you fast in the first game. We settled down and really fought in the second half."

It was the third game of 30-plus points for DeVries, whose previous high was 32. He finished 12-for-22 from the field, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range. He complemented his scoring with five rebounds and six assists, one short of his career best.

Lipscomb's A.J. Ginnis gave Drake fits in the first half, scoring 20 points – a career-high – on 7-for-9 shooting. But the Bulldogs tightened things up and held him to six points in the second half. The Bisons shot just 30.4 percent in the second half to finish at 47.4 percent for the game.

Drake will stay at home for its next game, facing Southwest Minnesota State on Thursday, Nov. 14. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

TEAM NOTES
•Drake, winning its eighth consecutive season opener, improved its record to 78-40 in season-opening contests.
•The 85 points were the most scored by a Drake team in its season opener since beating Coe, 87-61, Nov. 9, 2021-22.
• Tonight marked Drake's 38th consecutive nonconference home victory.
•Darian DeVries improved his Drake career coaching record to 123-48.
•DeVries improved his record at Drake to 6-0 in season openers
•Drake shot 51.6 percent from the floor (32-62).
•The Bulldogs outrebounded Lipscomb, 36-26, improving to 95-14 during the Darian DeVries coaching era.
•Drake improved to 55-1 when scoring 80 or more points during the Darian DeVries coaching era.
•Drake improved its record 29-8 on Wednesdays during the Darian DeVries coaching era.
•The 47 points scored by Lipscomb in the first half were the most Drake has allowed an opponent in the first half since trailing Iowa, 49-40, Dec. 7, 2013, in the Big Four Classic in Des Moines.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Junior swingman Tucker DeVries, the reigning MVC Player of the Year, enjoyed his third 30-plus career scoring game for Drake, with a career-high 36 points, including 23 in the second half.
•DeVries made three 3-point baskets, marking the 25th time in his career he has made three-plus treys in a game
•With Drake trailing 51-47, Devries scored 17 straight points during a 9-minute 14-second span enabling the Bulldogs to enjoy a 64-60 advantage that it never relinquished.
•DeVries dished out six assists - just one shy of his career-high seven dimes against UT Martin in 2021.
•Senior center Darnell Brodie contributed 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
•Redshirt sophomore point guard Conor Enright saddled 13 points - just the fourth double-figure scoring game of his career. 
•Junior guard Atin Wright, a transfer from Cal State-Northridge tallied 15 points, including three treys.

THE SERIES
•This was the first meeting between the schools.