CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Drake men's basketball team returned to Charleston for the first time since claiming the Charleston Classic title last season and produced another victory inside TD Arena on Monday night. Although the Bulldogs roster had a new look this time around, the winning result remained with a 71-62 victory.
 
Despite a slow shooting start for the Bulldogs, hitting just 25-percent from the floor in the early goings, Drake held its own on the boards to keep pace with the Cougars. A couple of buckets from Eli Shetlar and a three-ball from Andrew Alia saw the Dogs trail by just a point, 9-8, at the first media timeout.
 
The shots eventually started to fall for the visiting Bulldogs particularly from the outside. Over a three-minute stretch, Drake connected on three shots from beyond the arc, including consecutive jumpers from Braden Appelhans, to pull in front 19-16 with just over seven minutes to go in the period. Comparatively, Drake held Charleston to just 1-for-10 from deep at that point in the game.
 
Drake extended its lead out to 23-18 behind its defense when the game hit the under-four media timeout. The Bulldogs forced the Cougars into some difficult shots leading to a stretch of Charleston going just one for its last 11 from the field.
 
When the halftime horn sounded, the Bulldogs held on to a 28-25 advantage. Shetlar drained another long ball for his third of the contest and pushed him into double figures with 11 to lead Drake at the break. Both teams ended the first 20 minutes of play shooting 32-percent, but Drake connecting on 6-of-18 from deep proved to be the difference in the first half.
 
Out of the break, Drake's offense ran through Okku Federiko to get the Bulldogs going. The Helsinki, Finland native found his way inside the paint and made three of Drake's first four baskets to open the half to maintain its three-point advantage at 36-33.
 
A couple more three-pointers from Drake, this time from Alia and Federiko, sparked a 7-0 run from the Bulldogs and gave them their largest lead of the game at 43-33 with 13:09 on the clock.
 
The hot shooting second half continued for the Bulldogs and Drake raced ahead to a 17-point advantage, 57-40. A stretch of over five minutes saw the Bulldogs find nothing but nylon hitting on six of seven attempts from the floor, capped by a top of the key trey from Appelhans.
 
A slight lull in the offense eventually hit the Bulldogs which allowed Charleston to pull within 10 with just over four minutes remaining, however, as if right on cue, senior guard Jalen Quinn scored five-straight points to give Drake back a 15-point cushion, 64-49.
 
In the final few minutes, Charleston applied the pressure with its full court press and caused a couple turnovers which cut the Drake lead back into single digits. The Bulldogs ultimately stayed the course, however, and secured the win, 71-62.
 
"This was a great response from the guys tonight," Drake head coach Eric Henderson said. "Obviously, the outcomes haven't always been what we've wanted but they have always done a good job of bouncing back and having resiliency. You need that grit for 40 minutes, and we've had it for every game, just not for long enough stretches. Tonight, I loved our bite."
 
The Bulldogs are back in action from Des Moines on Friday, Nov. 21 as it hosts Buena Vista. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
 
Team Notes
•The Bulldogs moved their overall record to 3-2, winning their first true road game of the season.
•Drake is a perfect 4-0 in games played in South Carolina after winning the 2024 Charleston Classic sweeping three games in TD Arena.
•There was one lead change and four ties in the game.
•Drake posted season highs in three-point baskets (11), three-point field goal percentage (.355) and assists (16). For the third straight game Drake posted a season high in three-point shots (31).
•Drake shot 42.6 percent (26-61) from the floor, including 55.6 percent (15-27) in the second half.
•Five players scored in double figures for Drake, marking the second time this season that feat occurred.
•Drake reserves outscored the College of Charleston bench, 25-10.
•With the game tied at 16-16 with 7:24 left in the first half, a three-point basket by reserve Braden Appelhans and a layup by Andrew Alia gave Drake a 21-16 lead it never relinquished.
•A three-point basket by Appelhans with 8:38 left gave Drake its biggest lead of the game at 57-40.
•Drake scored its last seven points of the game at the free throw line, not taking a shot in the final 2:40 of the contest.
•Eric Henderson improved his collegiate career coaching record to 132-62.
 
Individual Notes
•Transfer guard Jalen Quinn led Drake with 17 points - all in the second half - after shooting 0-5 from the floor in the first half. He also snared down a career-high seven rebounds. while tying a season high with two steals.
•Junior guard Andrew Alia, one of two holdovers from the 2024-25 Drake team, added a career-high 13 points (making three of five three-point shots) while playing a career high 38 minutes. It marked the third straight game he scored a career-high after 12 points against SIUE, eclipsing his previous career best of nine points in Drake's win against Simpson.
•Sophomore transfer forward Okku Federiko and transfer Braden Appelhans each scored 12 points. Federiko had seven rebounds.
•Guard Eli Shetlar came off the bench collecting 11 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
 
The Series
•This was the inaugural meeting between the schools.