DES MOINES, Iowa – Roman Penn continued his inspired play with 22 points and the Drake men's basketball team rolled to its ninth straight victory, beating Belmont 70-56 in a Sunday matinee at the Knapp Center to remain tied for first in the Missouri Valley Conference.

A raucous crowd of 4,753 saw the Bulldogs (23-6, 14-4) take charge during the final 10 minutes of the second half to keep pace with Bradley in the conference race. Bradley held its position with a 50-48 victory over Southern Illinois.

"I think our guys are playing extremely hard on both ends of the floor," head coach Darian DeVries said. "Offensively and defensively, we're connected. We've done a good job of staying focused and turning the page to who our next opponent is."

Penn, who has been sensational during the winning streak, knocked down 9-of-16 shots, including a 3-pointer, grabbed six rebounds, handed out four assists and made a steal. Over the last nine games the graduate senior has taken his game to another level, averaging 18.4 points, 7.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds.

"I kind of found a rhythm," Penn said. "It's been a long year with a lot of ups and downs. My teammates and coaches let me make plays and give me the confidence to play the game. I'm not second-guessing anything and I'm just having fun with an aggressive mindset."

Tucker DeVries, who did not play in Drake's victory at Belmont on Jan. 29, pitched in with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Garrett Sturtz added nine points and seven rebounds, while Nate Ferguson and Sardaar Calhoun each delivered eight points off the bench, with Ferguson grabbing seven rebounds, handing out two assists and blocking a shot.
Darnell Brodie did not score but led the Bulldogs with nine rebounds.

With the victory, Drake swept the regular season series with the Valley's three newcomers: Belmont, Murray State and UIC. The Bulldogs have reached 23 victories for the third straight season and fourth time in the past five.

Belmont (19-10, 12-6) suffered through a second straight frigid performance from 3-point range against the Bulldogs. The Bruins came in shooting 39.9 percent from distance, which ranked third nationally, and averaged nearly 10 3s a game, but went 1-for-16 in both games with Drake. Belmont shot 29.4 percent overall in the first half of this one and 39.7 percent for the game.

Smooth-shooting Ben Sheppard led Belmont with 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Keishawn Davidson added 11 points for the Bruins, who made one run at Drake after falling behind by 21 at the start of the second half but never got the lead below double figures.

Drake went ahead for good when Ferguson grabbed a rebound, ran the floor and was rewarded with a pass from Connor Enright for a layup that broke a 7-all tie. Enright, who finished with three assists and took two charges, then found DeVries for a 3-pointer from the right corner to make it 12-7.

The Bulldogs were leading 14-11 when Ferguson scored inside on a pass from DeVries to start a 9-2 run that stretched the lead to 23-13. Treys by Okay Djamgouz, Calhoun and Penn made it 33-17 and the Bulldogs scored the final six points for the half of a 42-23 lead.

"I thought we really challenged Belmont's passes in the first half," Darian DeVries said. "We did a great job getting through screens. Belmont is a hard team to guard and it takes a lot of focus."

Sturtz hit a runner in the opening minutes of the second half to up the lead to 21 and the Bruins then started finding some offensive rhythm. They rattled off nine straight points to draw to 44-30, then kept pace with the Bulldogs for the next few minutes, drawing to 52-40 when Sheppard flipped in a soft shot off the glass.

At that point, Belmont had made 8-of-11 second-half shots and were threatening to cut even further into the lead. The Bulldogs needed a couple of plays to regain the momentum and Penn, Enright and Calhoun delivered.

Penn hit Calhoun for a corner trey and then Enright made his biggest play of the game. He blocked a shot, recovered the ball, led a fastbreak and lobbed to Calhoun for a layup for a 57-40 lead. The Bruins never made another serious run and when Sturtz converted an old-fashioned three-point play, the Bulldogs had their biggest lead at 66-44.

Drake's nine straight conference victories make up the longest streak since the Bulldogs won nine in a row in the 2020-21 season. The Bulldogs have won 12 of their last 13 after starting 2-3 in the league and will conclude the home portion of their schedule against Illinois State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Senior Night.

The Bulldogs conclude the regular season at Bradley next Sunday at 1 p.m.

TEAM NOTES

•Drake, earning its ninth straight victory, improved to 23-6 overall,  while maintaining a share of first place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 14-4 record.

•This marks the third straight season and fourth time in the last five years Drake has won at least 23 games in a season. The Bulldogs also posted 23-plus win seasons in 1968-69 (26-5) and 2007-08 (28-5).

•The nine-game winning streak is the longest at the school since the 2020-21 Drake team opened the season with an 18-0 start.

•Drake improved its home record to 13-1.

•Drake's bench scored 19 points, improving its record 12-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference games whenever the reserves score 10 or more points.

•Drake, which owned a 42-23 halftime lead, improved to 17-3 this season when leading at half including 90-13 under coach Darian DeVries. 

•For the second consecutive time, Drake's defense limited Belmont to 1-of-16 shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Belmont entered the game ranked third in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage at .399.

•Drake outrebounded Belmont, 43-36, pushing its record to 19-1 when outrebounding opponents this season, including a 91-14 record during the DeVries coaching era.

•This marked the 17th time Drake has enjoyed a double-figure halftime lead - including the 11th time in MVC games

•Drake is 11-1 this season when scoring 40 or more points in the first half, including a 8-0 mark in MVC games.

•Drake's bench scored 19 points as the Bulldogs moved to 12-0 in MVC games this season when reserves score 10 or more points in a game.

•Drake had two players score in double figures, improving its record to 2-4 when that feat occurred.

•Drake moved to 2-1 in games played on Sunday this season and 20-9 during the DeVries coaching era.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
•Graduate guard Roman Penn enjoyed his fourth 20-plus scoring game this season (10th time in his career) with 22 points, including 14 in the first half.

•Sophomore swingman Tucker DeVries added 13 points along with four rebounds and three assists.

•DeVries moved into No. 10 on the Drake single-season scoring list at 538 points, passing Melvin Mathis who scored 536 points in 1983-84.

•Graduate swingman Garrett Sturtz had nine points and seven rebounds.

•Sturtz became the 32nd player in MVC history to grab 900 or more career rebounds, increasing his total to 903.

•Senior center Darnell Brodie collected a game-high nine rebounds.

•Reserves Sadar Calhoun and Nate Ferguson added eight points apiece for Drake. Ferguson hauled in seven rebounds.

•Graduate guard D.J. Wilkins made one three-point basket, improving his school record career three-point baskets total to 292.

•Penn dished out four assists, pushing his school career record assists total to 582.

•Penn also moved into No. 5 on the Drake single-season assists list at 150, passing Lamont Evans who had 148 in 1999-2000.

The Series
•Drake, winning its second straight game against Belmont, owns a 2-1 lead in the series.

•This was the first time the teams have played in Des Moines.