DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake University, an NCAA Tournament team a season ago and the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference, used a big run to open the second half to help pull away and earn a 87-67 victory over Southwest Minnesota State University in men's college basketball on Tuesday night inside the Knapp Center.
 
The game counted as an exhibition for SMSU, which is 2-0 on the season, while Drake improves to 2-0 overall.
 
Drake led 38-33 at halftime but used a 14-2 run in the first three and a half minutes of the second half to build a 52-35 advantage and never looked back in earning the victory.
 
SMSU was led by Aeron Stevens who had a strong game off the bench with 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting, while Jake Phipps also had a big game recording a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
 
The Mustangs finished the night shooting 43 percent (26 of 61) from the field but made just 6 of 21 from 3-point range.
 
The Bulldogs closed the evening shooting 54 percent (29 of 54) from the field and connected on 11 3-pointers. Atin Wright scored a game-high 25 points with three 3-pointers, while Tucker DeVries, the reigning MVC Player of the Year, scored 21 points.
 
SMSU started the game strong using a three-point play by Mason Lund and a layup by Phipps to take an early 10-6 lead and force Drake to take a timeout at the 16:29 mark. The Bulldogs answered with an 11-0 run over the next four-plus minutes before Kyle Luedtke stopped the run with a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 17-12.
 
Drake would build a pair of 10-point leads later in the half, including 30-20 with 5:30 left, but seven straight points by Stevens and a field goal by Phipps during a 9-2 run cut the Drake advantage to 32-29.
 
The Bulldogs used back-to-back field goals by DeVries and Overton to slow the Mustang run, but a pair of free throws by Phipps and a layup by Dunwa Omot trimmed the deficit to 36-33 with just under a minute left in the half. The Bulldogs would later score on a jumper to build a 38-33 halftime advantage.
 
The early second half run was the key moment in the game as the Bulldogs connected on four 3-pointers in the opening five minutes in building a 58-37 lead.
 
SMSU wouldn't go away as Omot hit a 3-pointer and was followed by a pair of field goals by Stevens to make the score 60-46 at the 11:53 mark, but the Bulldogs would use an 8-1 run midway through the half to seal the win.
 
Lund closed the game scoring nine points with a pair of 3-pointers, while Omot added seven. Luedtke and Caleb Schlaak each added five points with Cofield chipping in with four points, five rebounds and three assists. Mekhi Shaw dished out a team-high four assists for the Mustangs.
 
SMSU returns to regular season action next Tuesday, Nov. 21, opening Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play at Wayne State with tip-off slated for 5:30 p.m.