Bulldogs with Power 4 Win
(St. Louis, MO) – Ben McCollum answered the ‘can McCollum coach at the Division 1 level’ emphatically today as Drake topples Miami. The Bulldogs never trailed during the Missouri Valley Conference’s first ‘power conference’ win of the early season. Drake’s upset of the Atlantic Coast Conference team (80-69) is part of the first day of multi-team event action at the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic.
Bulldog play-by-play man Michael Admire joined us and gives us a behind the scenes look at the upset and Drake’s first four games.
The Bulldogs opened the game with seven straight points and never relinquished the lead and earned its first ACC win since 2017 and its first against a power conference team since 2022.
Bennett Stirtz led the Bulldogs with 21 points. Daniel Abreu recorded his first D1 double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing ten rebounds. Stirtz added six assists. Mitch Mascari added 15 points, but it was the Bulldog defense that sparked the victory.
Admire joined us for an in depth conversation about the game and the season. Head to Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts to hear his analysis.
Miami came into the game averaging 98 points-per-game, but the Bulldog defenders held to Hurricanes to just 69 points. Drake stifled the Hurricane shooters. They made just 30 percent of their first half shots and just over 40 percent of their entire game total.
McCollum won 81% of his games at Division 2 Northwest Missouri State (394 wins) and is yet to taste defeat at the D1 level. Stirtz, Abreu and Mascari were NWMSU Bearcats last season.
The Bulldogs now face Florida Atlantic in the Classic’s second round. Game time is set for 10:30 a.m. and can be seen on ESPN2.
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Three more road wins so far in @ValleyHoops as @BradleyUMBB @BelmontMBB & @UIC_MBB capture road wins. Looks like @DrakeBulldogsMB will do so too. #FatherHarry
Well @RacersWBB followed the men's example and swept Iowa in the @ValleyHoops race! Racers are 6-1 & if @BelmontWBB holds on to their Iowa sweep, the Bruins and Racers will be tied for first. What a trip for those two teams! #FatherHarry
After today's action, @EIUWBB is 8-0 in @OVCSports play. 4 teams @usiwbb @TTUWBB @LRTrojans @LindenwoodWBB are tied at 6-2. Six other teams are under .500. Great race to the finish lies ahead. #FatherHarry
Really entertaining game between @BelmontMBB & @UEAthletics_MBB. Under four minutes left in a one point game. Gabriel Pozzato back in the Aces' lineup. Rogers is playing like I've expected. Triples are dropping. It's fun and @kylejpeach bringing it on #ThePlus #FatherHarry
