SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Another weekend, another road contest for the Drake men's basketball team as it travelled down to the state of Missouri for a challenge against the Missouri State Bears from Great Southern Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon. A challenge it proved to be as Drake escaped with a win in overtime, 69-62.
 
It was a close start between the Bulldogs and the Bears with both teams trading buckets in the early stages. Drake, however, connected on two-of-three from beyond the arc with makes from Daniel Abreu and Mitch Mascari giving it a 12-8 edge on the scoreboard.
 
The physicality between Drake and Missouri State played out as the period progressed. The Bears gathered more rebounds, but the Bulldog defense caused six turnovers and kept Missouri State scoreless from the 3-point line putting the score at 18-12 with 7:53 remaining in the half.
 
Drake's offense started to click with some inside-out action while the defense stymied the Bears offense. Back-to-back scores in the paint from Nate Ferguson and a three-pointer by Bennett Stirtz built the Bulldog lead up to 15, 29-14, at the 3:43 mark.
 
As the half came to end, Drake remained ahead by double-digits, 35-25, with Missouri State's Chase Walker sinking a trey to beat the clock. Mascari paced the Bulldogs on the offensive end leading all scorers with 10.
 
Missouri State opened the second half firing away from three-point land with six of its nine attempts from the field coming from distance. The Bears connected on three of those attempts to cut into the Drake lead, but Stirtz was able to keep the Bears at a distance still with five points of his own.
 
The strong shooting for the Bears continued with a 7-0 run, while the Drake offense stalled and Missouri State cut their deficit down to one off a Vincet Brady II three-pointer with 9:31 on the clock.
 
Seizing the momentum, Missouri State jumped ahead of Drake, 53-49. Consecutive buckets, including an and-one, from Michael Osei-Bonsu gave the Bears the edge with just under five minutes remaining.
 
The Bulldogs battled their way back to regain the lead, 54-53, getting downhill and converting at the charity stripe. Tavion Banks and Stirtz combined for three free throws and a Stirtz layup put Drake back in front with 1:08 remaining.
 
In the closing moments, Stirtz converted on one of two free throws, but another inside score from Osei-Bonsu brought the game even at 55-55 with :11 seconds left. The Bulldogs got a shot off at the buzzer on a driving layup from Stirtz, but the shot wouldn't fall and the game headed to overtime.
 
In the overtime period, Drake scored the first six points to gain some control over the Bears and never relinquished the lead. A Mascari three-pointer got the offense going and then the ball was put in Stirtz's hands. The junior scored six points in the extra frame to help the Bulldogs secure their sixth win in-a-row.
 
Stirtz was the leading scorer for Drake with 18 in the contest to go along with five rebounds and two assists. Mascari was the only other Bulldog in double figures with 13. Banks chipped in with nine off the bench mainly doing his damage from the free throw line going 7-of-8.
 
"Offensively, we just got stuck," Drake head coach Ben McCollum said. "I didn't think we probably came out with the energy we needed to. Credit [Missouri State]. They played inspired. I thought they played really well, hit tough shots and were super physical. We just have to be better come Wednesday."
 
The Bulldogs will head back home for their next game as they host in-state rival from the Knapp Center on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Tipoff against the Panthers is slated for 6:00 p.m.
 
Post-Game Notes
—Drake captured its sixth straight victory, while enjoying the third-best start in school history with its 18-2 mark — only trailing a 24-1 start by the 2007-08 team and an 18-0 start by the 2020-21 squad.
—Drake improved to 8-2 in the MVC, while maintaining second place.
—Drake is 5-1 on the road this season, including a 4-1 league road mark.
—Drake moved to 2-0 in overtime games this season with both contests played in the state of Missouri. Earlier, Drake earned a 73-70 overtime victory against Kansas State in Kansas City Dec. 17.
—Ben McCollum moved into a tie with Mark Phelps (2008-09) and Niko Medved (2017-18) for third place with the most victories by a first-year Drake coach at 18.
—First-year Drake coach Ben McCollum moved his career collegiate coaching record to 412-93, ranking No. 5 among the all-time collegiate coaches in winning percentage at .816, ranking just below legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp and ahead of Hall of Famer John Wooden who led UCLA to 10 NCAA championships.
—Drake shot 52.2 percent (12-23) in the first half, marking the 11th game this season the Bulldogs shot 50 percent or better in the first half. 
—Drake owned a 35-25 halftime lead, improving to 15-1 when leading at halftime this season.
—It marked Drake's fifth double-digit halftime lead of the season and third against an MVC opponent (Belmont 39-21 in Des Moines; Valparaiso 43-29 in Des Moines).
—After being held without a basket for the last 2:50 of regulation, Drake made four of five shots in overtime while outscoring Missouri State,14-7, in the extra period.
—The Bulldogs, who lead the MVC in steals (9.1 avg.) collected 11 steals marking the 10th time Drake has collected 10 or more steals in a game.
—This marked just the third game Drake was outrebounded this season but the Bulldogs improved to 2-1 when that situation occurred.
—Drake's bench outscored Missouri State, 21-7, with Tavion Banks (nine) and Nate Ferguson (eight) combining for 17 points.
—There was three ties and four lead changes
 
Individual Notes
—Junior guard Bennett Stirtz scored a team-high 18 points, including six points in overtime.
—Stirtz also collected a game-high four assists and four steals.
—It marked the fifth time Stirtz has collected four or more steals in a game this season.
—Graduate guard Mitch Mascari added 13 points, including 10 in the first half, along with a team-high five rebounds.
—Mascari made three three-point baskets, marking the 14th time this season he has made three or more treys in a game and 38th time in a career.
—Mascari moved into a tie for No. 24 on the Drake single-season three-point basket made list at 65 with Atin Wright (2023-24)
—Drake improved to 13-1 when Mascari made three or more three-point baskets in a game.
 
The Series
—This marked the second straight year these teams played an overtime game in Springfield with the Bears claiming an 83-80 double overtime win Jan. 24, 2024.
—Drake snapped a three-game losing streak in Springfield, earning its first road victory at Missouri State since Jan. 27, 2021, when the Bulldogs achieved a 78-73 win.
—Missouri State leads the series, 49-24, including a 28-7 record in Springfield.