DES MOINES, Iowa – A last-second shot ended a three-game homestand on a sour note for the Drake men's basketball team.
 
The Bulldogs clawed all the way back from a 15-point deficit to take the lead at the Knapp Center on Friday night, but SIUE countered with a rally of its own and won it, 61-59, on Ring Malith's running jump shot with 1.2 seconds left.
 
Drake (2-2) led by as many as seven after starting the second half with a big run, fell behind again, then regained the lead at 57-56 when Jalen Quinn buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:39 to play. Malith's trey gave the lead back to the Cougars (3-1), but Quinn delivered again for the Bulldogs, banking in a driving shot high off the glass for a tie at 59 with 10 seconds remaining.
 
SIUE called timeout with 5.8 seconds left and Malith, who played on a national championship junior college team two years ago, hit the game-winner from 15-feet out on the right side to end the Bulldogs' hopes of extending the game.
 
Quinn finished with 11 points as one of four Drake players in double figures. Andrew Alia and Wilguens Jr. Exacte led with 12 points each and Okku Federiko also scored 11 to go with eight rebounds. The 12 points were a career high for Alia, who made all four of his shots, each of them a 3-pointer.
 
Drake recovered from a horrible start – the Bulldogs missed 13 of their first 15 shots – and shot 48 percent in the second half to get back in it. But SIUE outscored Drake 16-7 over the final seven and a half minutes, Malith delivering the dagger with his two big shots in the final 37 seconds.
 
Malith led the Cougars, who played in the NCAA tournament last season, with 20 points and Myles Thompson scored 11 for SIUE, which was coming off a 64-55 home loss to Indiana State, one of Drake's Missouri Valley Conference rivals.
 
SIUE put Drake in a catch-up mode early, running off 11 straight points to start a 15-2 run that produced a 22-7 lead. The Bulldogs struggled to get the ball inside and put up most of their early shots from 3-point range. Those didn't fall, either.
 
The Cougars were leading 33-18 when the Bulldogs finally started to click. Federiko's dunk capped an 8-0 run that cut the lead to 33-26, and Exacte's free throw and 3-pointer left Drake trailing just 36-30 at halftime despite shooting only 31-percent and getting outrebounded 22-18.
 
SIUE stretched the lead to 39-30 on a Malith three-ball before the Bulldogs kicked into high gear and roared back. Seven-straight by Exacte, including a soaring two-handed jam on a putback, cut the lead to 40-39 and Drake went ahead for the first time when Jaehshon Thomas, a right-hander, hit a left-handed turnaround at the shot clock buzzer for a 44-43 Bulldog edge.
 
His shot drew a roar from the crowd and launched an 8-2 run that included two 3-pointers from Alia, the second trey producing a 52-45 lead with 7:33 remaining and capping a 22-6 Drake burst. But the Bulldogs couldn't hold on and will head out on the road seeking to get back over .500.
 
Drake plays again Monday night at Charleston, a game that starts at 6 p.m., before returning home to face Buena Vista next Friday, Nov. 21.
 
Team Notes
•The Bulldogs evened their record to 2-2 overall, including 1-2 at home.
•Drake's two home losses equal the most home losses in a season over the last four seasons dating back to 2022-23.
•Drake is 100-13 in the Knapp Center dating back to the 2018-19 season.
•There were six lead changes and three ties in the game.
•Drake utilized its second different starting lineup of the season with Isaiah Carr making his first start of the year, replacing Andrew Alia in the lineup.
•Alia replaced Carr in the lineup to start the second half.
•Drake shot 38.3 percent (23-60) from the floor, closing out the game missing six of its last eight shots in the final 5:16.
•For the second straight game Drake posted a season high in three-point shots (30), while tying a season high with nine three-point baskets. 
•Drake recorded season lows in points (59), free throws made (four), free throw attempts (eight) and turnovers (eight).
•For the fourth straight game, nine players scored points for Drake.
•For the fourth straight game Drake had at least four players score in double figures.
•Trailing 39-30, Drake went on a 17-2 run to enjoy a 47-43 lead following a 3-point basket from Alia. Another three-point basket by Alia gave Drake its biggest lead at 52-45 before SIUE closed out the game with a 16-7 run
•SIUE started the second half making just two of 18 shots.
•Drake opened the game making just 2 of its first 15 shots (13.3 percent) with nine of those shots beyond the three-point arc.
•Drake scored 15 points in the opening 11 minutes 34 seconds of the first half and equaled that 15-point output in the final 8:24 including a 12-3 run to end the half
 
Individual Notes
•Junior guard Andrew Alia, one of two holdovers from the 2024-25 Drake team, came off the bench with a career high 12 points (making all four three-point shots), eclipsing his previous career best of nine points in Drake's last game against Simpson.
•Junior transfer forward Wilguens Jr. Exacte also tallied 12 points, while collecting six rebounds.
•Sophomore transfer forward Okku Federiko and transfer guard Jalen Quinn each added 11 points. Federiko scored nine points in the first half, while Quinn collected seven points in the second half.
•Federiko led Drake with eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
The Series
•The series is tied at 2-2 with all four games played in Des Moines.