Des Moines Register

Drake basketball kept its 2025-26 season alive on Thursday, March 5, with a 67-63 win over Southern Illinois in the opening round of the MVC Tournament.

The 9-seed Bulldogs (13-19, 7-14 MVC) held firm down the stretch in the back-and-forth contest. Neither team ever accumulated a double-digit lead through the game, with both teams’ largest lead being 9 points. Drake got out to a hot start out of the gate, leading by as many as 8 early on, but then the Salukis got traction with a couple of extended runs in the first half. Southern Illinois went into the halftime break up by four, 31-27.

But in the second half, Eric Henderson’s team thrived, holding the lead for the majority of the second frame, taking over for good with just over 13 minutes left. Jalen Quinn, who was named first-team All-MVC on Wednesday, March 4, led Drake with 22 points. It was his 17th game scoring 20+ points this season and his 624 points on the year move him into eighth all-time in the program’s single-season scoring list. His performance against the Salukis helped him pass All-American Willie McCarter, who posted 603 during the 1967-68 campaign.

It wasn’t all Quinn doing the damage, though. Eli Shetlar added 16 points and three boards while Owen Larson posted 14 points. Andrew Alia led the way on the boards, pulling down 11 in the win.

Drake will be back in action on Friday as it looks to pull off an upset of top-seed Belmont (26-5, 16-4 MVC) at noon CT. The Bulldogs have lost both meetings against Belmont this season, falling 78-76 at home on Jan. 10 and 103-90 in Nashville on Feb. 3.

Drake Post-Game Notes
—Drake, which snapped a nine-game losing streak, improved to 13-19 under first-year coach Eric Henderson
—Drake posted its 10th straight MVC Tournament victory – the longest tournament winning streak ever by an MVC school.
—Drake improved its MVC Tournament record to 33-43 including a 5-4 mark as a No. 9 seed while advancing to the quarterfinal round for the ninth straight year dating back to 2018.
—Drake is 3-1 in neutral site games this season.
—Drake improved its record to 5-15 when trailing at half after erasing a 31-27 halftime deficit.
—Drake also moved to 5-14 when being outrebounding (48-31 margin by Southern Illinois)
—There were four lead changes and five ties in the game.
 
Drake Player Notes
 —Senior transfer guard Jalen Quinn enjoyed his 17th 20-plus scoring game with a team-high 22 points including 16 in the second half.
—Quinn moved into No. 8 on the school single-season scoring list at 624 points, passing Willie McCarter (1967-68, 603).
—Redshirt sophomore Eli Shetlar netted 16 points, while tying a career high with three steals.
—Sophomore guard Owen Larson added 14 points, surpassing his combined total of nine points (5, 4) in two previous games vs. Southern Illinois this season.
—Larson tied his career high with four three-point baskets.
—Redshirt junior Andrew Alia led Drake tying a career-best with 11 rebounds for the third time this season.
—Freshman Griffen Goodbary scored five points in a 42-second span to give Drake a 53-48 lead it never relinquished.
—Goodbary also tied a career high with two blocked shots.
 
The Series:
—Drake won the season series against Southern Illinois 2-1 and has won eight of its last nine meetings but still trails in the overall series, 62-49.
—Drake moved its MVC Tournament record against Southern Illinois to 6-3, winning its fourth straight tournament game against the Salukis.