Big start launches Bulldogs to win over Ac

Toumi leads UE with 13 points

 

DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake opened the night connecting on 10 of their first 11 field goal attempts and would pull away to take a 98-47 win over the University of Evansville men’s basketball team on Saturday night at the Knapp Center.

Yacine Toumi was Evansville’s top scorer with 13 points while Antonio Thomas had 10 and Josh Hughes finished the night with eight.  Five Bulldogs reached double figures with Kyron Gibson and Darnell Brodie scoring 18 apiece.  Brodie added a game-high 10 rebounds.

Making his first collegiate start, Chuck Bailey III kept the Purple Aces right in the mix in the opening moments, giving UE a 4-2 lead.  After four in a row by the Bulldogs, Bailey converted once again to tie the game at 6-6.  That is the point where Drake took control, scoring 12 in a row to cap an 8-for-9 start from the field.  The early lights out shooting continued for the Bulldogs as 10 of their opening 11 attempts found the bottom of the net, giving them a 23-8 lead.

Evansville switched to a zone defense, temporarily causing some issues for the Bulldogs.  Yacine Toumi knocked down a triple to cut the deficit to 12 (23-11) as the period moved past the midway point before Drake countered with another 3-pointer on the ensuing possession.  That triple was the first of 20 in a row by the Bulldogs as they went up 43-11 at the 5:27 mark.  Following a Josh Hughes layup, Drake added five more to take their largest lead of the half at 48-13.  At the break, UE trailed by a 54-20 margin as DU shot 75.9% in the opening stanza.

Toumi scored UE’s first six points of the second half as the squad got back within 30 points at 58-28.  With 11:37 remaining, Drake capped a 13-3 stretch that pushed their advantage to 40 points.  As the minutes wound down, the Bulldogs finished the evening with the 97-48 victory.

For the night, DU shot 63.9% from the field and 44.4% from long range.  Evansville finished at 35.6% while shooting 18.2% from 3-point range.

UE remains in Iowa as they prepare for Tuesday evening’s contest at UNI.  Tip will be at 7 p.m. at the McLeod Center