DES MOINES, Iowa – In its final tune-up before opening the Missouri Valley Conference season, Drake couldn't overcome torrid shooting by North Dakota State seeing a furious second-half rally fall short in a 99-94 setback Saturday afternoon at the Knapp Center.
 
The weather conditions outside in Iowa's capital city called for snow, but the heat was turned up inside the Knapp Center as both the Bulldogs and Bison were scorching from the field in the early goings. Drake did its damage from the outside getting a pair of three-balls from Eli Shetlar and Owen Larson added one himself to spark the offense.
 
However, NDSU kept pace with Drake and shot a blistering 73-percent from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 tally from deep, to own a seven-point lead, 20-13, when Drake head coach Eric Henderson called a timeout at the 12:52 mark.
 
Following two more triples for NDSU from Treyson Anderson, the Bison extended their lead out to 26-17. It was at the 11:09 mark where North Dakota State finally missed from the outside, but on its next possession Damari Wheeler-Thomas added three more points the old-fashioned way with an and-one.
 
A quick 8-0 run from the Bulldogs, featuring back-to-back makes from long range by Jaehshon Thomas and Jalen Quinn, trimmed the deficit down to four for Drake, but the Bison had an answer with a 10-2 run of their own to put their lead back to double-digits, 39-27, with 7:25 to go in the half.
 
As the half came to a close Drake got as close as six following a pair of free throws from Okku Federiko, but the hot shooting by the Bison didn't stop. NDSU sank four of its last six shots and raced to the locker rooms with a 14-point advantage, 55-41.
 
Buckets were traded at a break-neck pace to start the second half as Andrew Alia found the touch from beyond the arc swishing consecutive shots for Drake. But just as it did in the first half, NDSU countered with three long balls to hold firm on the lead and force another timeout from the Drake bench.
 
Just prior to the under-12 media timeout, NDSU cashed in on its 17th three-pointer of the contest giving the Bison their largest lead of the contest, 80-62.
 
Drake stayed in the fight over the following eight minutes and started to slowly chip away at NDSU's lead. Drake pulled within 92-86 following a three-point basket by Alia with 3:50 left in the game. Another three-point basket by the junior with 29.6 seconds left helped Drake cut the deficit to 98-93.
 
A final free throw by Wheeler-Thomas with 11 seconds sealed the deal for the Bison ultimately and cut Drake's comeback shy.
 
"You've got to give credit to North Dakota State," Henderson said. "They really came in here and played terrific. Shot the ball like crazy, obviously. We need to continue to find ways to find our identity. Honestly, it was just tough because, especially defensively, I feel like we weren't really able to take them out of their rhythm. Especially in that first half and they just kept it going. We were able to score the basketball. When you make 14 three's on your home court, you really hope to win but that wasn't the case."
 
The Bulldogs now move forward to MVC play and will hit the road for their first league contest next Thursday, Dec. 18 against Murray State. Tipoff with the Racers is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
 
 
Team Notes
—Drake, suffering its second straight loss, fell to 6-5 overall entering its Missouri Valley Conference opener Thursday at Murray State.
—The Bulldogs are 3-4 at home this season.
—Drake's home record is 102-15 dating back to the 2018-19 campaign.
—Drake shot 51.9 percent (27-52) from the floor.
—The Bulldogs also hit at a clip of 51.9 percent from three-point range (14-27).
— Drake made 14 three-point baskets, suffering its first loss in four outings when making 10 or more three-point baskets in a game.
—The Bulldogs outrebounded North Dakota State, 33-27.
—Drake matched its largest halftime deficit of the season, trailing 55-41. The Bulldogs also trailed LSU, 38-24, in the opening round of the Emerald Coast Classic.
—The Bison made a season-high 19 three-point baskets — just one of their school single-game mark of 20 set last year. NDSU made a combined 11 three-point baskets in its previous two games entering today.
—North Dakota State scored 23 points off Drake turnovers, owning a 15-0 margin in that category at halftime.
 
Individual Notes
—Senior transfer guard Jaden Quinn led Drake with 24 points, including 14 in the first half. He added a team-high six assists.
—Quinn tied a Drake school single-game record in free throw percentage (minimum 10 attempts) by making 12 of 12 free throws.
—Quinn scored 10 straight points for Drake during a 3 minute 20 second stretch midway through the first half (9:52 to 6:32) on two three-point baskets and four free throws.
—Sophomore Okku Federiko added 18 points, including 10 in the first half.
—Redshirt sophomore guard Eli Shetlar, making his first collegiate start of his career, scored a career-high 16 points for Drake, including a career-high five three-point baskets (eight attempts).
—Redshirt junior Andrew Alia collected a career-high 15 points, while tying a career high with four three-point baskets.
—Sophomore transfer guard Owen Larson made his first career start for Drake, hitting a three-point basket while dishing out five assists.
—Junior forward Wilguens Jr. Exacte, battling an illness, came off the bench collecting six points and six rebounds
 
The Series
—North Dakota State captured its first victory ever in the eight meetings between the schools.
—Drake is 6-1 against the Bison in games played in Des Moines.