SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Monday marked the official start of the 2025-26 season for the Drake men's basketball team under the leadership of new head coach Eric Henderson as it took on Northern Arizona from the Sanford Pentagon as part of the Field of 68's Opening Day Marathon. The Bulldogs battled their way to a 77-71 win behind career nights from Jalen Quinn and Wilguens Jr. Exacte for the first victory in the Henderson era.
 
It was a bit of a slow start offensively for both sides with the scoreboard reading 6-4 in favor of the Bulldogs at the first media timeout. Drake began the contest shooting 3-of-9 from the field, getting buckets from Exacte, Quinn, and Jaehshon Thomas. All three of Drake's makes came from inside the paint. On the defensive end, the Bulldogs held NAU to just 2-of-11 from the field in the first four minutes.
 
Out of the break, the Bulldogs hit on a couple connections from three-point territory courtesy of Okku Federiko and Braden Appelhans pushing their lead out to 12-4 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the half.
 
The Bulldogs maintained their eight-point advantage following another splash from long range by Appelhans at the 10-minute mark, but Northern Arizona slowly chipped away at the deficit and eventually brought the game back even at 21-21 with 3:21 on the clock.
 
Down the stretch, Drake and NAU traded baskets back-and-forth until a pull-up three by Ryan Ableman went through the hoop just before the halftime horn sounded, which gave the Lumberjacks the lead at the break, 31-28.
 
Thomas led Drake in the scoring department over the first 20 minutes of play with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. The Bulldogs shot 37-percent from the field in the first half and held the Lumberjacks to just 30-percent shooting, but NAU, led by Abelman's 15 points, connected on 5-of-12 from long range to give them the slight edge.
 
When the second half picked back up, the Bulldogs faced a barrage of three-pointers from NAU. The Lumberjacks went a perfect 4-for-4 over a six-minute stretch from distance and forced a timeout from the Drake bench with the scoreboard now reading 51-40.
 
The hot shooting for the Lumberjacks eventually came to a halt, however, and the Bulldogs used a 7-0 run, capped by an Excate trey ball to pull back within four points, 51-47, with 10:52 remaining.
 
At the under-eight media timeout the Bulldogs still trailed, 61-56, following a floater high off the glass by Thomas to push him to 15 points on the day.
 
Drake remained steady and continued its comeback attempt as the game rolled on. A corner jumper from Appelhans made it a one-point ballgame, 64-63, and then a quick lay-in from Jalen Quinn put the Dogs back in front, 65-64, with 5:20 to go.
 
Over the next few minutes, Drake and NAU went back-and-forth, with the Bulldogs holding on two a two-point lead after a couple of free throws. Following a defensive stop, Quinn stepped up and drained a three-ball to put the Bulldogs up by five, 71-66.
 
In a blink of an eye, however, Northen Arizona tied the contest back up at 71-all with just over two minutes remaining.
 
When the game switched to closing time, Federiko came up huge with an offensive rebound putback giving the edge to the Bulldogs, 73-71. Free throws then iced the game away and Drake secured the victory, 77-71.
 
"I'm so excited to be a Bulldog and just mostly happy for our guys," Drake head coach Eric Henderson said. "We brought in a whole slew of kids and to be able to bring them together… not one of those guys played together. Not one. So, to continue to work on that connectivity, to continue to work on that chemistry is so huge. You want to be able to get a few wins along the way too and the resiliency we showed in the second half was terrific.
 
"I did think we were a little tight to start, but we needed somebody to make some energy plays, some hustle plays, and I thought Will was one of those guys that kind of brought that energy in the second half when we needed it."
 
It was a balanced effort from the Bulldogs who had five players score in double-figures. Quinn led the pack with 20 to go along with four boards and a pair of assists. Next in line was Thomas with 15. Appelhans and Excate each ended their night with 14 points. Appelhans drained a team-high three triples, while Exacte tallied 12 rebounds for a double-double. Federiko rounded out the bunch scoring 12 and added eight rebounds.
 
Drake returns to Des Moines for its home opener versus Robert Morris on Thursday, Nov. 6. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT from the Knapp Center.
 
Team Notes
•Drake, winning its ninth consecutive season opener, improved its record to 80-40 in season opening contests.
•Eric Henderson improved his collegiate career coaching record to 130-70 in seven years.
•Eric Henderson became the 19th coach in school history to win in his Drake coaching debut.
•Eric Henderson improved his career coaching record at the Sanford Pentagon to 10-5, while winning his fifth straight game in the facility.
•Drake shot 45 percent from the floor, making 27-of-60 shots.
•The Bulldogs hit 31.8 percent from three-point range, making seven of 22 shots.
•Five players scored in double figures for Drake.
•Drake outrebounded Northern Arizona, 46-39.
•Drake's bench outscored Northern Arizona's reserves, 16-9, with Braden Appelhans scoring 14 points.
•There were four lead changes and seven ties in the game.
 
Individual Notes
•Senior transfer guard Jalen Quinn, appearing in his 100th collegiate career game (previous 99 at Loyola-Chicago), led a balanced scoring attack with a career-high 20 points, including 18 in the second half.
•Junior transfer forward Wilguens Jr. Exacte collected his first career double-double with a career-high 14 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. He also recorded a career-high three blocked shots.
•Junior forward Wilguens Jr. Exacte scored Drake's first points of the season with a layup off a feed from guard Jalen Quinn with 19:08 left in the first quarter.
•Senior transfer guard Jaehshon Thomas netted 15 points including 11 in the first half.
•Junior transfer guard Braden Appelhans came off the bench scoring 14 points, including three three-point baskets, in 27 minutes of action.
•Sophomore transfer forward Okku Federiko added 12 points and eight rebounds
•Junior redshirt guard Andrew Alia, one of two holdovers from the 2024-25 Drake team, made his first collegiate start for Drake playing 19 minutes.
 
The Series
•Drake improved its series record to 2-0 against Northern Arizona after winning the inaugural meeting, 76-56, in the second round of the Fresno State Classic Nov. 30, 2013