Des Moines, Iowa — The Drake University men’s basketball team more than held its own for a half against No. 22 Loyola, but a big burst at the start of the second half carried the Ramblers to an 81-54 victory at the Knapp Center Saturday.
Loyola shot a blistering 70.4 percent in the second half (19-for-27) and won its 11th straight game in handing the Bulldogs just their second loss of the season.
Drake fell to 19-2 overall and 10-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference heading into the second game of the series with first-place Loyola (18-3, 13-1) at 2 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.
Darnell Brodie led Drake with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting but was limited to 19 minutes because of foul trouble. He fouled out late in the game. Garrett Sturtz added 10 points and led the Bulldogs with six rebounds, while Joseph Yesufu and Tremmel Murphy each scored nine points. Roman Penn led the Bulldogs with six assists.
Sturtz made his first start of the season in place of leading scorer ShanQuan Hemphill, who is sidelined by a fracture in his foot that required surgery Thursday. It was the first time all season that coach Darian DeVries had to change his starting lineup.
Loyola, which shot 63.8 percent for the game, was led by Aher Uguak’s 20 points. Branden Norris added 11, while Cameron Krutwig finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Drake led 34-31 after a first half that featured aggressive, physical defense by both teams. But foul problems curtailed some of Drake’s aggressiveness in the second half and the Ramblers capitalized.
They ran off the first nine points of the half, getting two baskets after turnovers and another following an offensive rebound. Brodie stopped the run with a jump hook that cut the lead to 40-36, but the Bulldogs would not get that close again.
Keith Clemons’ 3-pointer started another 9-0 run that increased the lead to 49-36 and the Ramblers continued to pull away from there with their sharpshooting while the Bulldogs struggled offensively. Drake shot 30.4 percent in the second half and 40.4 percent for the game in losing at home for only the fifth time in 43 games over the last three seasons.
Brodie dropped in three baskets early against the 6-foot-9 Krutwig, a veteran of Loyola’s 2018 Final Four run, helping Drake to an early 8-4 lead. The Bulldogs stayed in front for most of the half and led 27-22 after Sturtz hit a turnaround shot inside and Yesufu knocked down a 3-pointer.
Loyola edged in front 30-29 before backup center Issa Samake put together a strong stretch. The 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman made a free throw, sank a hook shot and scored inside on a nice feed from Penn, putting Drake ahead 34-30. A Loyola free throw left the Bulldogs with their three-point halftime lead, but when Drake missed four of its first five shots in the second half, the Ramblers took control.
