CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Drake men's basketball team opened the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic with a wire-to-wire win, 80-69, over ACC opponent Miami on Thursday afternoon from TD Arena. The Bulldogs improved their record to 4-0 to begin the season, while the Hurricanes suffered their first loss and moved to 3-1.
 
Drake began the game on a 7-0 start as Mitch Mascari drained the contests first bucket with a three-pointer followed by field goals from Cam Manyawu and Bennett Stirtz. The Bulldogs continued to build their lead extending it to as much as 13 at 28-15 with 8:29 remaining in the first half.
 
The Hurricanes eventually cut the lead down to 30-25 following a three-ball from Austin Swartz that forced Drake to call a timeout. Coming out of the break, Drake immediately responded as Stirtz connected with Nate Ferguson on an alley-oop and took a 36-27 lead into the half.
 
The Bulldogs were paced by Stirtz scoring 10 points in the first 20 minutes of action, while Mascari and Ferguson chipped in with eight and six points, respectively. Drake held Miami to shooting just 30-percent from the floor (6-20) and outrebounded the Hurricanes (20-12) in the half.
 
Miami came out aggressive to start the second half, pulling within four points just before the under-12 media timeout. That was as close as the Canes would get, however.
 
Drake built its lead back up to double-digits mainly doing damage from the free throw line as the Bulldogs went 20-of-21 from the stripe in the second half.
 
The Bulldogs then used a 7-0 run down the stretch that started with Mascari's third triple of the game and was capped by a pair of free throws from the graduate guard to reach their largest lead of the afternoon at 15 points with 1:20 to go. The Hurricanes continued to apply pressure with the clock winding down, but the Bulldogs handled it well to secure the victory.
 
"The relentless mentality that we showed today was what led us," Drake head coach Ben McCollum said. "Our guys have the ability to sustain effort for the full 40 minutes. Part of winning basketball is it's not necessarily coming up throwing a haymaker, but it might just be jabbing for an entire game and eventually you're going to get somewhere with it. So, you know, we have to be a little bit more jab, jab, jab, and kind of fight and compete and try to outlast and I thought we did."
 
Stirtz scored a game-high 21 points to lead all scorers with Daniel Abreu scoring 18 and Mascari adding 15. Abreu also pulled down 10 rebounds to give him his first double-double performance of the season. Tavion Banks provided nine points off the bench, including going 5-for-6 at the free throw line.
 
The Bulldogs return to action tomorrow in a matchup with Florida Atlantic in the semifinal round. Tip-off is slated for 10:30 am CST and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
 
Team Notes
•This marked the third time in the last five years, Drake has won its first four games to start the season: 2022-23 (6-0 start) and 2020-21 (18-0 start).
•Ben McCollum improved his collegiate career coaching record to 398-91 in 16 years.
•This was Drake's first victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference team since beating Wake Forest, 77-74, Nov. 17, 2017, in Lynchburg, Va.
•This was Drake's first victory over a Power Five Conference school since beating Mississippi State, 58-52, Dec. 20, 2022, in Lincoln, Neb.
•Drake, which entered the game ranked No. 3 in the NCAA in scoring defense (51.0 ppg), held Miami, which entered the game ranked No. 4 in the NCAA in scoring offense (98.0 ppg), to a season-low 69 points.
•The Bulldogs outrebounded Miami, 35-23, while grabbing a season-high 14 offensive rebounds. 
•Drake had 13 second-chance points compared to just six by Miami.
•Drake outscored Miami in points in the paint, 36-18, including a 22-4 cushion in the first half.
•Drake committed a season-low six turnovers.
•Drake led the entire game, racing to a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs enjoyed their biggest lead at 74-59 with 1:20 left following two free throws by Mitch Mascari. That capped a 7-0 run in a 42-second span which started when Mascari nailed a three-point basket with 2:02 left.

Individual Notes
•Junior guard Bennett Stirtz enjoyed his second 20-plus scoring game of the season (15th in career) with a game-high 21 points, including 11 in the second half.
•Daniel Abreu enjoyed his first double-double of the season (2nd in career) with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
•Abreu scored 13 points in the second half.
•Abreu made a career high nine free throws out of a career high 10 attempts.
•Stirtz dished out a game-high six assists — one shy of his season high seven against York.
•Mitch Mascari added 15 points, making three three-point baskets.
•It marked the second time Mascari has made three three-point baskets in a game this season and 26th time in his career.
 
The Series
•Drake evened the series at 1-1, avenging a 63-56 loss to Miami in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.