DES MOINES, Iowa – A season-high crowd of 5,464 turned out at the Knapp Center for the latest installment in the Drake-Northern Iowa rivalry on Wednesday night and the Bulldog fans in the gathering got what they wanted.
 
Drake combined 63 percent shooting from 3-point range with some impressive stretches of defense to continue its recent mastery in the series with a 66-52 victory that pulled the Bulldogs into a first-place tie with Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
The Bulldogs (19-2, 9-2 MVC) scored the final eight points of the first half for a 36-24 lead and led by as many as 19 in the second half on the way to their seventh straight victory. It was the eighth win in the last 10 games with the Panthers (13-9, 7-4)
 
Eight of the nine Drake players who got into the game scored, Bennett Stirtz leading with 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting with two 3-pointers. He also handed out four assists and made three steals while playing the entire game for the 11th time this season.
 
Cam Manyawu added 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds while making 5-of-6 shots, including two dunks. Daniel Abreu and Mitch Mascari each scored nine points and Kael Combs contributed seven off the bench.
 
The Bulldogs went 7-for-10 from 3-point range in the first half and finished 10-for-16, the fifth time this season they've made at least 10 treys. They shot 50 percent overall, came up with 11 steals and outrebounded their taller opponent 28-25.  Another key figure for Drake: A 21-9 edge in points off turnovers.
 
It's the 11th time with 10 or more steals for Drake, which leads the Valley at 9.2 a game.
 
Tytan Anderson led Northern Iowa with 16 points and Trey Campbell scored 10 for the Panthers, who shot 44.7 percent. They came into the game fifth nationally in field goal percentage at .501. Drake is second nationally in scoring defense, giving up just 57.7 points a game.
 
UNI got two baskets in the first minute of the second half to cut the lead to 36-28, but the Panthers were never that close again. Stirtz worked his way down the lane for a bucket, then banked in a floater high off the glass for a 40-28 lead.
 
The Panthers drew back to 40-31, but Drake answered again. Abreu buried a 3 from the left corner, Stirtz sank a free throw and Manyawu exploded off the floor for an emphatic jam after grabbing an offensive rebound, stretching the lead 46-31.
 
Manyawu had a big sequence in helping Drake to its biggest lead. With the Bulldogs leading 54-45, Stirtz sank two free throw and Mascari came off an Abreu screen to knock down a 3. Manyawu followed with a steal and dunk, then leaped to intercept a pass under the UNI basket. That led to a possession that ended with Mascari getting fouled shooting from deep and making all three free throws. It was 64-45 with 3:26 left and the Bulldogs coasted from there.
 
Drake trailed only once, at 6-5, and after a tight game in the first 8 minutes, the Bulldogs hit six straight shots to create some separation. Four of those shots came from distance, two of them barely beating the shot clock.
 
Stirtz started the spurt by hitting an off-balance shot on a drive to the basket, then fed Combs for a trey from the right wing. Combs struck again a little more than a minute later, knocking down a 3 from the left corner as the shot clock buzzer sounded. Stirtz hit a fadeaway 3 with a second remaining on the shot clock and drove for a layup before Isaiah Jackson nailed a 3 for a 28-17 lead. At that point, the Bulldogs were shooting 83 percent for the game (10-for-13).
 
Northern Iowa chopped the lead to 28-24 at the 4:10 mark, but Drake held the Panthers scoreless the rest of the half in building its 12-point lead at the break. Drake shot 59 percent overall in the opening half, the 12th time this season the Bulldogs have shot 50 percent or better in the first half.
 
"From our perspective, I thought our kids were dialed in," Drake head coach Ben McCollum said. "It was funny, my staff came in and said, 'Hey our guys are really ready.' I'm like, 'Well no kidding. There's 6,000 fans here. Some other games why aren't they ready?' But they were tuned in and executed the scout and did a great job. They worked through some of the lulls as well."
 
Drake goes back on the road for its next two games, playing at Southern Illinois at 1 p.m. on Saturday and at Murray State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
 
Post-Game Notes
—Drake captured its seventh straight victory, while enjoying the third-best start in school history with its 19-2 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 9-2 in the MVC, while moving into a tie with Bradley for first place in the league.
—Drake is 11-1 at home this season, including a 5-1 league home mark.
—Ben McCollum ranks No. 3 for the most victories by a first-year Drake coach at 19.
—First-year Drake coach Ben McCollum moved his career collegiate coaching record to 413-93, 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 50 percent from the floor (22-44), improving to 9-0 this season when shooting better than 50 percent from the floor.
—The Bulldogs shot a season-high 62.5 percent from three-point range (10-16), including 70 percent (7-10) in the first half.
—Drake hit 59.1 percent (13-22) in the first half, marking the 12th game this season the Bulldogs shot 50 percent or better in the first half. 
—Drake owned a 36-24 halftime lead, improving to 16-1 when leading at halftime this season.
—It marked Drake's sixth double-digit halftime lead of the season and fourth against an MVC opponent (Belmont 39-21 in Des Moines; Valparaiso 43-29 in Des Moines; Missouri State 35-25 in Springfield).  
—Drake made 10 three-point baskets moving to 5-0 when making 10 or more three pointers in a game.
—The Bulldogs, who lead the MVC in steals (9.2 avg.), collected 11 steals marking the 11th time Drake has collected 10 or more steals in a game.
—Drake outrebounded UNI, 28-25, improving to 17-1 when out rebounding opponents this season.
—The Bulldogs collected 10 offensive rebounds - their 14th game this season with 10-plus offensive rebounds.
—Drake's bench outscored UNI, 15-12, with guard Kael Combs leading the way with seven points including his first two three-point baskets of the season.
—There was two ties and two lead changes
 
Individual Notes
—Junior guard Bennett Stirtz enjoyed his ninth 20-plus scoring game of the season, including the 22nd time in his career.
—Stirtz also had a game-high four assists and a game-high three steals.
—It marked the 11th time Stirtz has collected three or more steals in a game this season, including his third straight MVC contest.
—Sophomore forward Cam Manyawu collected 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds along with two steals and one blocked shot.
—Graduate forward Daniel Abreu added nine points - on three three-point baskets - along with three steals.
—It marked the sixth time this season Abreu has made three or more treys in a game and 10th time in a career.
—Graduate guard Mitch Mascari made two three-point baskets, moving into a tie for No. 19 on the Drake single-season three-point basket made list at 67 with DJ WIlkins (2020-21).
 
The Series
—Drake beat UNI for the eighth time in the last 10 meetings while claiming its second straight double-digit victory over the Panthers in Des Moines.
—Drake improved its record against UNI in games played in Des Moines to 23-18.
—UNI leads the series, 52-35