PEORIA, Ill. – It was another conference road contest for the Drake men's basketball team on Wednesday evening as it renewed the oldest rivalry in the league with the Bradley Braves from Carver Arena. Behind a gritty performance from the reserves, the Bulldogs put an end to their two-game skid and came away with a 64-57 victory.
 
It was a strong start for the Drake defense as it held Bradley scoreless for the first three minutes of the game, but the Braves answered by doing what they do best, hitting shots from beyond the arc. Bradley, the best shooting three-point team in the country, scored on three consecutive baskets from distance to open a 9-4 advantage.
 
Bradley extended its lead out to nine points, 17-8, with just under 12 minutes to go in the period as they continued to make jump shots. Drake countered and cut the lead down to six, at the under-8 timeout going to its bench and getting back-to-back buckets from Nate Ferguson and Kael Combs.
 
The Bulldogs let their bench shoulder the load the rest of the period totaling 24 points to bring the score even at the break, 31-31. Tavion Banks led the way for Drake with 10 points, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe while Combs chipped in with six and Isaia Howard added four points.
 
Both squads picked up the defensive intensity coming out of halftime as Drake and Bradley shot under 40 percent in the first few minutes of play. Mitch Mascari, however, gave Drake a three-point lead, 39-36, at the 12:43 mark connecting on his second triple of the night.
 
After the Braves retook the lead at 40-39, Drake countered with a 10-0 run in a quick two-minute spurt. Banks kept up his strong play from the first half and scored six during that stretch to give the Bulldogs their largest lead up to that point in the game.
 
Down the stretch, the Bulldogs survived a couple of comeback attempts from the Braves as Bradley pulled within six on two occasions with under two minutes remaining. Ultimately, the dagger was delivered by Mascari on another three pointer to put Drake up 58-49 with 1:26 left.
 
"We tried different lineups to see if we could get downhill a little more, get in the lane a little bit more," Drake head coach Ben McCollum said. "I thought it really benefitted us to play a few more guards. I thought our guys that came in really battled defensively. They really executed exactly what they were supposed to."
 
The Bulldogs return home to host Evansville on Saturday with tipoff from the Knapp Center slated for 5 p.m.
 
Post-Game Notes
—Drake is off to the third best start in school history with its 13-2 mark tying starts by the 1967-68 and 1968-69 Bulldogs teams, while only trailing a 24-1 start by the 2007-08 team and an 18-0 start by the 2020-21 squad.
—Drake, playing its third Missouri Valley Conference road game in the last five outings, improved to 3-2 in the MVC, including a 2-1 league road mark.
—Drake, which ranks fourth in the NCAA in scoring defense (58.2 avg.), held Bradley to a season-low 57 points.
—The Bulldogs also limited Bradley to a season-low five three-point baskets (5-20 shooting). Bradley entered the game leading the NCAA in three-point shooting at 42.9 percent
—Drake, which leads the MVC in steals (8.79 avg.) collected a season-high 15 steals, marking the seventh time the Bulldogs had 10-plus steals in a game this season.
—Drake, which leads the MVC in rebounding margin (plus 7.60), out-rebounded Bradley, 30-27.
—Drake grabbed 10 offensive rebounds, marking the 10th game this season the Bulldogs had 10-plus offensive rebounds in a game.
—Drake's bench outscored Bradley 44-12. That matched a season high bench production by the Bulldogs of 44 points against St. Ambrose.
—There were eight lead changes and five ties in the game.
—Drake faced its biggest deficit away from the Knapp Center this season when Bradley owned 13-4 and 15-6 lead in the first half.
 
Individual Notes
—Junior swingman Tavian Banks came off the bench with a career-tying 19 points along with a career-high seven rebounds and a career-tying two steals.
—Graduate guard Mitch Mascari added 12 points, making four three-point baskets.
—It marked the 10th game this season (34th time in career) in which Mascari has made three or more treys.
—Sophomore reserve Kael Combs chipped in with 10 points.
—Junior guard Bennett Stirtz dished out a game-high eight assists—his third game with eight-plus assists.  He also had two steals.
—Freshman reserve Isaia Howard collected eight points and five rebounds. 
—Guard Isaiah Jackson returned to the starting lineup after missing last Sunday's game against Murray State because of an injury.
 
The Series
—Drake, won its fifth straight game against Bradley, including the second straight contest in Peoria. Bradley still owns a 93-74 lead in the oldest series in the MVC, including a 55-24 mark in Peoria.