DES MOINES, Iowa – Back home after a good road win at Charleston, the Drake men's basketball team took care of business against Division III Buena Vista.
 
The Bulldogs shared the ball, hit the glass hard, got balanced scoring and reached a season high in points in beating the Beavers 98-52 at the Knapp Center on Friday night to forge their first two-game winning streak of the young campaign.
 
Drake (4-2) got going midway through the first half after a rough start, built a 14-point lead by halftime and blew it open with a 34-5 second half run. The Bulldogs shot 73.3 percent in the second half (22-for-30) and a season-best 60.9 percent for the game. This after missing nine of their first 14 shots and falling behind.
 
Drake head coach Eric Henderson used nine players, all of them scored and seven reached double figures, led by Okku Federiko 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Federiko also pulled down six rebounds and handed out a career-high six assists.
 
Braden Appelhans hit four 3-pointers in scoring 14 points, Jalen Quinn, Jaehshon Thomas and Eli Shetlar each scored 13 and Andrew Alia added 11. Shetlar's 13 were his best this season and matched his career high from his time at Indiana State. Wilguens Jr. Exacte chipped in with 10 points and a team-best seven rebounds.
 
The 98 points were the most Drake has scored since beating UIC 107-105 in three overtimes in Chicago on Feb. 28, 2024. It's the most the Bulldogs have scored in regulation since a 124-48 rout of St. Ambrose on Dec. 21, 2022.
 
Drake also reached a season high with 23 assists – on 39 field goals – and outrebounded the smaller BV team 42-18. The Bulldogs overwhelmed the Beavers inside with a commanding 54-12 edge in paint points and also reached season bests in 3-pointers (12) and 3-point field goal percentage (.414).
 
Buena Vista is coached by former Mason City High School and University of Iowa standout Jeff Horner and is the alma mater of Drake assistant Rob Klinkefus, who was a four-year starting quarterback for the Beavers and later an assistant with the basketball team.
 
BV knocked down some shots early in this one, including its first three from 3-point range, and led 14-10 less than 8 minutes into the game.  The 6-foot-9 Federiko then got more active inside, the Bulldogs started finding the bottom of the net with their shots and began to assert themselves.
 
Federiko scored six straight points on a dunk, a follow shot and a layup on a sweet feed from Exacte to lift Drake into an 18-14 lead and the Bulldogs stayed ahead the rest of the way. Quinn's step-back jumper and an Appelhans three-ball took the lead to 32-24 and the Bulldogs finished the half with seven straight points for a 41-27 lead.
 
Drake made 13 of its last 21 shots in the opening half and continued that hot shooting in the final 20 minutes. The lead was 54-41 when the Bulldogs really kicked into another gear, making seven straight shots – including three treys from Appelhans and two Federiko dunks – to go up 72-44 and force a Buena Vista timeout.
 
The pause didn't slow the Bulldogs and the lead kept growing.
 
Griffen Goodbary's two free throws and Exacte's putback launched a 16-0 run that made it 88-46 and Drake finished it off with the game's final eight points, Exacte providing the exclamation point with a dunk to produce the final margin.
 
Buena Vista, which counted the game as an exhibition and plays again Saturday night, used 19 players. Jayden Brink led the Beavers with 16 points and Adam Bryte scored 12.
 
"I'm really proud of our guys and how they continue to fight possession by possession," Henderson said. "I appreciate Jeff [Horner] and his squad for coming out and playing. And they came out and swung. They made some shots early and gained a little confidence and had a bunch of fight. They made our guys earn it. Obviously, in the second half we were able to stretch it out and our guys made strides tonight."
 
The competition will stiffen markedly the next time the Bulldogs play. They have two games in the Emerald Coast Classic in Destin, Fla., starting Friday, Nov. 28 with LSU.
 
Team Notes
•The Bulldogs improved their overall record to 4-2 and are now 2-2 in home contests.
•Drake set season highs in points (98), three-pointers (12), field goals (39), field goal percentage (.609), and assists (23).
•Drake scored its most points in a game since a 107-105 win over UIC in three overtimes on Feb. 28, 2024.
•Drake's 98 points marked the most in regulation of a game since a 124-48 victory against St. Ambrose on Dec. 21, 2022.
•Seven players scored in double figures for Drake, marking the third time this season in which five or more players have tallied double figure point totals.
•Drake reserves outscored the Buena Vista bench, 35-29.
•Drake outrebounded the Beavers by a mark of 42-18.
•Eric Henderson improved his collegiate career coaching record to 133-62.
 
Individual Notes
•Sophomore forward Okku Federiko led Drake with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. He also set a career-high with six assists, while adding two blocks on the defensive end.
•Sophomore guard Eli Shetlar, one of two holdovers from the 2024-25 Drake team, tied a career-high 13 points and tied a career-best five made field goals. It marked the second straight game he scored in double figures.
• Braden Appelhans en route to scoring 14 points, one shy of his season-high, connected on a season best four three-pointers. It marked the third game this season in which he has led Drake from shooting behind the three-point line.
•Guards Jalen Quinn and Jaeshon Thomas each scored 13 points.
• Wilguens Jr. Exacte reached double-digits points (10) for the fourth time this season. He also pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds. The junior has led Drake in rebounding three times now this season.
•Freshman Griffen Goodbary set a new career-high with six points going 2-of-2 from the field and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.
 
The Series
•Drake improves to 2-0 all-time against Buena Vista. The other victory over the Beavers back in 2018 also finished with a final score of 98-52.