Drake’s Andrew Alia steals the ball from Belmont’s Tyler Lundblade during a game at Knapp Center on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 in Des Moines. (Photo/Lily Smith/The Register

Alyssa Hertel | Des Moines Register

Coming off a 27-point loss to Bradley on Wednesday, Drake men’s basketball returned home for a Saturday, Jan. 10, matchup against another tough opponent: Belmont.

The Bulldogs wasted little time making a statement, jumping out to a double-digit lead and holding the Bruins scoreless for nearly five minutes. For much of Saturday’s game, it looked like Drake would walk away with the win.

But the Bulldogs failed to sustain that momentum in the second half – an issue that’s plagued Eric Henderson’s squad all season – and Belmont came from behind to secure the 78-76 win in the Knapp Center.

“What a gut-wrenching deal,” Henderson said postgame. “A lot of things we did very well for us to feel like that. But at the end of the day…sometimes those last hurdles are the hardest to get over, and we’re going to keep working at it.”

Here are three takeaways from the Bulldogs’ loss to the Bruins.

Drake fails to sustain first-half momentum into the second

Following the first 20 minutes of play, Drake headed to the locker room with a comfortable 44-25 lead – a 19-point advantage – at halftime. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 25 points over Belmont in the first minute of the second half.

And then, things started to fall apart.

The Bruins chipped away at Drake’s double-digit lead, and Belmont tied the game for the first time off a free throw from Jabez Jenkins with just under four minutes remaining in regulation. Two minutes later, Jenkins gave his team their first lead of the game, converting a Bulldogs’ turnover into a 76-74 advantage.

Belmont scored 53 points in the second half after netting just 25 in the opening frame. Drake did its best to stick with the Bruins, but the Bulldogs didn’t have enough fight left in the tank toward the end of the game.

“Sometimes it’s the first half, sometimes it’s the second half,” Henderson said about what needs to change for Drake to play two complete halves. “We changed the way we come out of the locker room. We’ve (tweaked) our warm-ups, at times…to have that same amount of energy for 40 minutes instead of 20, 25.

“But it’s been a challenge for us to put 40 minutes together, and that’s what we’re striving for.”

Bulldogs find some balance on 3-pointers

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead, capitalizing on four 3-pointers – a trio from Eli Shetlar and one from Jalen Quinn – and easing to a 12-0 lead over a Belmont team that, on Wednesday, defeated a Northern Iowa squad that was previously undefeated in MVC play.

The hot shooting continued to start the second half.

Owen Larson scored back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minute of the half and finished the night with four total deep buckets. Leading into the Belmont game, he hit just three total the rest of the season and had made 0-of-10 attempts from deep across the last three games.

This game marked one of Drake’s better performances from 3-point range. The Bulldogs went 17-of-38, with Shetlar scoring eight 3-pointers and Larson finishing with four.

Isaiah Carr stands out in the loss.

Isaiah Carr averaged fewer than nine minutes, three points and three rebounds per game ahead of Saturday’s contest, but the 7-foot senior forward made his presence known against the Bruins.

He finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots in 18 minutes of playing time. He went 3-of-4 on field goal attempts and made 6-of-10 free throws.

“It’s hard to see those (positives) when the outcome is what it is, but Isaiah was a big one,” Henderson said. “Tonight, I thought he deserved more opportunities and he got them, and he certainly came to the table with some nice stuff.”

Drake Team Notes
—Sam Orme’s layup with 0.4 seconds left broke a 76-76 tie as Belmont rallied from a 25-point deficit.
—Drake slipped to 8-9 overall including a 2-4 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
—Drake is 2-1 in three Missouri Valley Conference games determined by two or less points
—The Bulldogs are 4-5 at home, suffering their third loss by two points: 81-79 Robert Morris (overtime), 61-59 SIUE, 78-76 Belmont.
—Drake shot 43.9 percent from the floor (25-57), including 50 percent (14-28) in the first half.
—There was one lead change and four ties in the game.
—Three days after scoring a season-low 19 points at Bradley, Drake tallied 44 points in the first half en route to a 44-25 halftime lead. But Drake was outscored 53-32 in the second half.
—Drake owned its biggest lead of the game at 50-25 and 53-28 following three-point baskets from Owen Larson and Eli Shetlar, respectively.
—Belmont grabbed its first lead of the game at 76-74 with 1:43 left following a basket by Drew Scharnowksi.
—Drake made 17 three-point baskets, falling to 3-3 when making 10-plus three-point baskets in a game.
—The Bulldogs had a season-high 38 three-point shots.
—Drake forced Belmont into 14 turnovers, more than doubling its season low of six against UNI last Wednesday.
 
Drake Player Notes
—Eli Shetlar, making just his fourth start of the season, led Drake with a career-high 26 points (20 in the first half), including a career-high eight three-point baskets.
—Transfer guard Owen Larson scored a season high 17 points, while tying a career high with four three-point baskets. Larson had 15 points in his combined previous four games entering tonight. Larson was three of 20 beyond the three-point arc entering the game before making four of 10 three-point shots tonight.
—Senior forward Isaiah Carr came off the bench scoring a season-high 12 points, including nine in the first half. That surpassed his total of eight points in his previous combined five games.
—Carr also tied a season high with three blocked shots.
—Carr, junior guard Andrew Alia and senior guard Jalen Quinn led the Bulldogs with six rebounds apiece.
—Quinn and Larson led Drake with four assists apiece.
—Wilguens Jr. Exacte, who had started in 13 games, missed his third consecutive game because of a foot injury.
 
The Series
—Drake had a three-game winning streak against Belmont snapped, but the Bulldogs still lead the all-time series, 5-3.
—This marked Belmont’s first win ever in Des Moines in four trips.