DES MOINES, Iowa – Jalen Quinn started hot, stayed hot and led the Drake men's basketball team to its most significant victory of the season.
 
Quinn scored a career-high 34 points, Owen Larson matched his career best with 22 and Drake beat Murray State 101-90 at the Knapp Center on Wednesday night, handing the league-leading Racers their first lost in Missouri Valley Conference play and snapping their 12-game winning streak.
 
Murray State brought the Valley's highest scoring team into Des Moines, and the Bulldogs answered the challenge, taking the lead for good early in the second half and then responding to everything the Racers threw at them. It was Drake's first 100-point game against a Valley opponent since a 107-105 triple-overtime victory at UIC Feb. 28, 2024.
 
Quinn, a senior who transferred in from Loyola-Chicago, was the main reason that happened, with Larson also playing a huge role as Drake squared its record to 10-10 overall and improved to 4-5 in the conference.
 
Making 14-of-25 shots, Quinn showed off his entire repertoire of offense, driving to the basket, pulling up for jump shots and hitting floaters with his off hand. He also grabbed six rebounds, made three steals and handed out two assists, including a pass to Andrew Alia for a dagger 3-pointer late in the game.
 
The 34 points were the second-most by an MVC player this season.
 
Larson, who followed first-year coach Eric Henderson from South Dakota State, put together the best game of his short Drake career. He went 7-for-13 from the field, including three driving shots that he banked high off the glass, knocked down a 3-pointer and tacked on six rebounds and two assists. The 6-foot-1 sophomore also was steady at the free throw line, making all but one of his eight shots.
 
Alia made both of his shots from distance in scoring 12 points while contributing his usual dose of hustle. Jaehshon Thomas delivered 11 points off the bench, including four late free throws to help secure the victory. Then there was Isaiah Carr, who made the most of his 11 minutes off the bench with eight points, five rebounds, three blocks and an assist. He went 6-for-6 from the line as Drake recorded season highs in free throws (41) and free throws made (32).
 
Quinn got the Bulldogs off to a fast start by making five of his first six shots in helping them build a 14-9 lead and that set the tone for the evening. Murray State (16-4, 8-1) managed to pull into the lead four different times in the first half but was never up by more than three points.
 
The Racers' last lead came at 40-39 with 1:38 left in the half and lasted only 12 seconds. Larson buried a trey on the ensuing possession and sank two free throws for a 44-41 Drake lead at the half. He and Quinn combined for 32 of those points and were 14-for-23 from the field. The rest of the team was 2-for-12.
 
The rest of the team came through in the final 20 minutes.
 
After Murray State scored five straight points to tie it at 48, Carr dropped in two free throws and Quinn hit a jumper to make it 50-46 with 17:03 to play. The Bulldogs never gave up the lead again and ended up trailing only three and half minutes in the game.
 
The Bulldogs finally began to open some distance with a 6-0 run at the end of a stretch in which they made six of seven shots. Quinn nailed a jump shot, Thomas blew past his defender for a layup and Okku Federiko scored on a putback for a 62-53 lead with 14:08 to play.
 
Murray State sliced the lead to 66-61, but the Bulldogs answered again, this time with an 11-3 run. Braden Appelhans, who had been in a shooting slump since make a school-record 10 3-pointers against Western Illinois on Dec. 2, started it with a fortunate-bounce trey, the ball hitting the rim and backboard before dropping through.
 
Larson banked in a layup, Quinn sank three free throws after being fouled behind the arc and Appelhans connected again from deep for a 77-63 lead with 9:24 left, the Bulldogs' largest of the game. When Murray State got to within nine, Drake took advantage of a technical foul to sink four free throws on a single possession to get the lead back to double figures.
 
The Racers never got closer than seven the rest of the way. With the Bulldogs leading 88-78 with under two minutes to play, Henderson directed them to start running clock and they executed perfectly. With the shot clock running down, Quinn drove to the basket and kicked the ball to Alia, who was wide open in the right corner. Alia buried the triple to make it 91-78 with 1:38 remaining.
 
It became just a matter of making free throws after that and the Bulldogs were as steady as could be, sinking 11 of 12 from the line in the final 1:12 to wrap up a satisfying victory.
 
Eleven players saw action for Murray State and nine of them scored, led by Javon Jackson's 20 points. Jackson and Quinn came into the game with the exact same scoring average – 17.3 to tie for second in the league. The Murray State winning streak had matched the fifth longest in Division I.
 
"Our ability to take punches and be resilient is incredible," Drake head coach Eric Henderson said. "Our spirit has never wavered. They always keep coming back and when you do that you can have some pretty fun times and tonight was one of them. The crowd was awesome. I thought, more importantly, our guys really created a lot of energy and excitement. There were exciting plays, they celebrated each other at a high level and when you do that it's pretty easy to root for this group."
 
The Bulldogs will try to keep things going when they play at Indiana State at noon on Saturday. They'll be back at the Knapp Center on Wednesday, Jan. 28 to play Evansville at 6:30 p.m.
 
Team Notes
—Drake evened its record to 10-10 overall including a 4-5 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
—The Bulldogs are 5-6 at home.
—Drake snapped Murray State's 12 game winning streak which was the fifth longest active streak in the NCAA entering tonight.
—There were 10 lead changes and nine ties in the game.
—Drake shot 50 percent from the floor (32-64), including 55.2 percent (16-29) in the second half.
—Drake outrebounded Murray State, 45-37, including a 22-10 margin in the second half, to improve to 6-2 when outrebounding opponents this season.
—The Bulldogs owned a 19-10 advantage in second-chance points.
—Drake posted season highs in free throws made (32), free throw attempts (41), while tying a season low with nine assists.
—Drake used an 11-3 run, sparked by two three-point baskets from reserve Braden Appelhans, to enjoy its biggest lead of the game at 77-63 with 9:25 left in the game.
—This marked the second time Drake had scored 100-plus points in a game earlier beating Western Illinois, 108-57, Dec. 2.
—It marked the first time Drake had scored 100-plus points in a Missouri Valley Conference game since earning a 107-105 triple overtime victory at UIC Feb. 28, 2024.
—The 101 points were the most allowed by Murray State to a MVC opponent this season.
—Drake improved to 7-1 when leading at halftime pulling away from a 44-41 halftime lead.
 
Player Notes
—Senior transfer guard Jalen Quinn enjoyed his ninth 20-plus scoring game of the season (2nd 30-plus scoring game), leading Drake with a career-high 34 points,17 in each half.
—The 34 points were the second highest accumulated by a player in the Missouri Valley Conference this season, trailing only 35 by Bradley's Jaquan Johnson at Evansville Jan. 13, 2026.
—The 34-point outburst by Quinn also tied for No.40 on the all-time Drake single-game scoring list and were the most points by a Drake player since Tucker DeVries had 39 in a three-overtime win at UIC Feb. 28, 2024.
—It marked Quinn's third straight 20-plus scoring game. He is averaging 27.7 points during that stretch.
—Quinn made six of 10 free throws, marking the sixth game this season that he has had 10 or more free throw attempts this season.
—Sophomore transfer guard Owen Larson tied a career-high with 22 points, including 15 in the first half.
—The 22 points tied a mark Larson had made against St. Thomas Feb. 6, 2025 playing for South Dakota State.
—The 22 points bettered Larson's previous season high for Drake eclipsing 17 points against Belmont Jan. 10, 2026.
—Quinn (17) and Larson (15) combined for 32 of Drake's 44 points in the first half, while the rest of the Drake team made just two of 12 shots.
—Redshirt junior guard Andrew Alia added 12 points, including 10 in the second half. The 12 points equaled his combined output of 12 points in his previous two games (4,8) against Southern Illinois and UIC.
—Senior guard Jaehshon Thomas tallied 11 points, including nine in the second half.
—Senior transfer forward Isaiah Carr came off the bench netting eight points, while tying a season high making six free throws.
—Eli Shetlar scored just three points - his lowest total since being inserted into the starting lineup the last six games.
—Wilguens Jr. Exacte, who had started in 13 games, missed his sixth consecutive game because of a foot injury.
 
The Series
—Drake improved its record in the overall series against Murray State to 7-4 including a 3-1 mark in games played in Des Moines.