WICHITA, Kan. – The Drake men's basketball team saw its record setting season come to an end Saturday night falling to the No. 3 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 77-64.
 
In atypical fashion for the Bulldogs, the first half of the contest moved at a frantic pace. When the halftime horn sounded, Texas Tech led Drake, 37-30. Both offenses showed off their efficiency early as the game's first break would not occur until 11:33 left on the clock with Drake leading 16-12. The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick start shooting 7-for-11 from the field while the Red Raiders matched going 6-for-9. The first ten minutes of the game saw eight lead changes.
 
Texas Tech used its size advantage and went to the paint early. JT Toppin and Darrion Williams combined for 33 of the Red Raiders 37 first half points with only five misses between the two.
 
Drake meanwhile showcased a balanced attack. Led by Daniel Abreu, who put up nine points in the first half off 3-of-4 shooting from deep. Abreu entered the match one for his last 10 from distance, but turned his fortune around with an efficient shooting stroke against the Red Raider defense.
 
Bennett Stritz finished the first 20 minutes with six points and six assists and Kael Combs came off the bench with seven strong points.
 
After the halftime break, Drake responded with a quick 5-0 run off a three by Abreu followed by a steal and score from Stirtz. The momentum, however, shifted back in favor of the Red Raiders due to a four-point swing off free throws all converted by Elijah Hawkins making the score 47-38 with 15:24 to go.
 
Despite the Bulldogs best efforts, Texas Tech wouldn't be denied inside and converted its chances at the charity stripe stretching its lead out to 12 with just over four minutes remaining on the clock.
 
More free throws added to the Red Raider lead down the stretch to ice the game away.
 
TEAM NOTES
—Drake, which had an eight-game winning streak snapped, closed out the season with a school-record 31-4 overall mark.
—The Bulldogs, appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time, saw their NCAA Tournament record slip to 7-8, including a 2-1 mark as a No. 11 seed along with a 2-2 record in NCAA Tournament games played in Wichita.
—The loss snapped a two-game Drake winning streak against Big 12 Conference teams after claiming a 73-70 overtime victory against Kansas State Dec. 12, 2024, in Kansas City., Mo. and winning at Kansas State, 80-70, Nov. 25, 2020
—Drake is 7-1 on neutral courts this season
—Ben McCollum, Drake's winningest first-year coach with 31 wins, has a career coaching record of 425-95 ranking No. 5 on the all-time collegiate coaches list in winning percentage (.819). He compiled a NCAA Division II tournament record of 32-7, winning 20 of his last 22 NCAA Tournament games
—MVC teams are 3-1 against Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament
—Drake slipped to 3-2 when trailing at halftime after trailing 37-30 at intermission.
—Texas Tech outrebounded Drake, 33-25 with the Bulldogs falling to 6-2 when losing the battle of the boards this season.
—Drake had a season-low two steals.
—When Drake trailed Texas Tech, 77-61, with 1:04 left it was the largest deficit the Bulldogs faced this season.
—Drake's bench outscored Texas Tech's reserves, 24-3
—There were nine lead changes and three ties in the game.
 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
—Junior guard Bennett Stirtz, the MVC Player of the Year, enjoyed his 20th 20-plus scoring game of the season with a team-high 21 points, including 15 in the first half.
 —Stirtz tied the Drake NCAA Tournament record for most career 20-plus scoring games after enjoying his second-straight 21-point output. He tied the mark held by Willie McCarter (1969 NCAA Tournament) and Joseph Yesufu (2021 NCAA Tournament).
—Stirtz has scored in double figures in 33 of 35 games, scoring 20-plus points in 12 of his last 15 games.
—Stirtz moved into No. 4 on Drake's single-season scoring list at 673 points, passing Red Murrell who scored 668 in 1957-58
—Stirtz became the second player in Drake history to collect 200 assists in a season joining Adam Emmenecker who set a school record with 213 assists during the 2007-08 seasons.
—Stirtz is the only player in the NCAA this season who has collected more than 600 points (673), 200 assists (200) and 70 steals (72).
—Stirtz is also the first player in MVC history to achieve 600 points, 200 assists and 70 steals in a season.
—Graduate Daniel Abreu scored 15 points, making five of seven three-point baskets. The five three-point baskets were his second highest single-game total this season. He entered the game having made 1 of 10 shots beyond the three-point arc in his previous five games.
—Sophomore Kael Combs came off the bench tying a career high in scoring with 13 points and five rebounds along with collecting three assists and one steal.
—Junior reserve Tavion Banks added 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. He scored seven points in the second half.
—Drake suffered its first loss in 19 games this season when Banks scored in double figures
 
THE SERIES
—This marked the first meeting between these schools