MURRAY, Ky. – Tuesday night closed out the first road trip of the season for the Drake men's basketball team as it took on the Murray State Racers from the CFSB Center. The Bulldogs avenged their only home loss of the season and defeated Murray State in a low scoring affair, 55-45.
 
The reigning Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, Bennett Stirtz, carried the load offensively in the early stages of the game scoring seven of Drake's first nine points. Tavion Banks then got involved scoring three consecutive baskets to give the Bulldogs an 18-13 lead with 9:13 on the clock.
 
After scoring a combined 51 points in the last game against Southern Illinois, the combo of Banks and Stirtz kept their strong offensive performance going against the Racers totaling 15 of the Bulldogs' first 18 points.
 
Drake's defense then went to work against the Racers offense allowing the Bulldogs to build a double-digit lead at the under-4 media timeout, 26-14. Drake held Murray scoreless for over five minutes of play until a JaCobi Wood layup ended the drought.
 
The Bulldogs allowed only one more bucket by the Racers before the halftime break and took a 32-18 lead into the locker room. Banks and Stirtz accounted for the majority of the Drake offense scoring 23 out of Drake's 32 in the half. Kael Combs added four points and three rebounds off the bench as well. Murray's 18 points marked the least amount of points Drake has allowed in a half to a conference opponent this season.
 
After Murray State went 1-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Racers began the second half looking to go inside and scored on three straight dunks. Drake's defense made the adjustment, however, and once again stifled the Murray offense with another extended stretch of six minutes without a field goal.
 
The Racers didn't go away though and found a counter punch to pull within 10 of the Bulldogs, 43-33, using a 9-0 run as the clock hit the 7:23 mark.
 
With the clock winding down, Murray State continued to cut into Drake's lead converting at the charity stripe and made it an eight-point contest with just over two minutes to go. But the Bulldogs stayed composed down the stretch and secured the win.
 
Stirtz led all scorers with 23 points to go along with four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Drake's next two leading scorers both came off the bench in Banks (16) and Combs (6).
 
"It was physical all game," Drake head coach Ben McCollum said. "In the first half it was physical both directions. In the second half, I thought it got really physical. It kind of made the game a little bit muddy. It wore us down a little bit. At that point you have to fight, and kind of scrap and we did. That's part of winning on the road."
 
The Bulldogs will head back to Des Moines after spending the last five days on the road as they host Indiana State as part of Des Moines Hometown Team Weekend on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tipoff against the Sycamores is slated for 5:00 p.m.
 
Team Notes
—Drake captured its ninth straight victory, while tying for the second-best start in school history with its 21-2 record (matching the 21-2 start by the 2020-21 squad) and only trailing a 24-1 start by the 2007-08 team.
—Drake's winning percentage (91.3) is tied for second in the nation (behind only Auburn).  Drake's 21 victories are the most by a NCAA Division I team this season
—This marked the 10th time Drake has won 21 or more games in a season, including the last five straight seasons dating back to the 2020-21 campaign.
—Drake improved to 11-2 in the MVC, maintaining first place in the league.
—This marked the fifth straight season Drake has won 10-plus league games in the Missouri Valley Conference.
—Drake is 12-1 on the road this season, including a 6-1 league road mark.
—This marked Drake's 15th double-digit victory this season, including seventh against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent.
—Drake, which ranks second in the NCAA in scoring defense (58.0 avg.), held Murray State to a season-low 45 points.
—The Bulldogs have now held 13 opponents to season lows in scoring.
—Ben McCollum became just the third coach in school history to win 21 games in first year of coaching at Drake, joining Keno Davis (28-5, 2007-08) and Darrian DeVries (24-10, 2018-19).
—First-year Drake coach Ben McCollum moved his career collegiate coaching record to 415-93, ranking No. 5 among the all-time collegiate coaches in winning percentage at .816, ranking just below legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp and ahead of Hall of Famer John Wooden who led UCLA to 10 NCAA championships.
—This also marked the 14th straight season (previous 13 at Northwest Missouri State) in his coaching career that McCollum had reached 20 wins in a season. The only active NCAA coaches with streaks that long are Mark Few, Gonzaga 25; Bill Self, Kansas 21; Dana Altman, Oregon, 14.
—Drake shot 51.2 percent from the floor (22-43), improving to 11-0 this season when shooting better than 50 percent from the floor.
—The Bulldogs have shot 50 percent or better in six of their last seven conference games.
—Drake owned a 32-18 halftime lead, improving to 18-1 when leading at halftime this season.
—Drake's bench outscored Murray State, 22-9.
—That marked the eighth game this season Drake's bench had scored 20-plus points, tallying 22 points.
—There was one tie and one lead change
 
Individual Notes
—Junior guard Bennett Stirtz enjoyed his 11th 20-plus scoring game of the season, including the 23nd time in his career after scoring a game-high 23 points including 12 in the second half.
—Stirtz also had a game-high four assists, while sharing game high honors in steals at two with teammate Isaiah Jackson.
—Stirtz moved into No. 9 on Drake's single-season assists list at 142, passing Ron Caldwell (1973-74,140).
—Junior swingman Tavion Banks came off the bench scoring 16 points, including 12 in the first half, for his tenth double-figure scoring game of the season.
—Banks collected five rebounds, sharing team-high honors with freshman reserve Isaia Howard, while dishing out three assists.
—Graduate guard Mitch Mascari made one three-point basket, moving into No. 16 on the Drake single-season three-point basket made list at 70.
 
The Series
—Drake leads the series, 6-3, having won six of the last seven meetings.
—The Bulldogs own a 2-1 record in Murray, winning their second straight game on the Racers' homecourt