DES MOINES, Iowa – The points did not come as easily as they did in the opener and the game didn’t flow as smoothly, but the Drake men’s basketball team got the result it wanted.
The Bulldogs went ahead to stay with a 14-0 run spanning halftime and held off Southern throughout the second half for 75-68 victory in a Sunday matinee at the Knapp Center.
Jon Carroll’s double-double keyed the victory and three teammates also scored in double figures to help the Bulldogs fend off a determined effort by a Southern team in the midst of a five-game season-opening road trip that will take the Jaguars to Iowa State on Tuesday night and Minnesota on Thursday night.
Carroll, who led with 20 points in the Bulldogs’ season opening 101-48 rout of Central, put up 21 points and 11 rebounds in this one, getting 19 of those points in the second half. The 6-foot-7 transfer from Morehead State was aggressive going to the basket, drew nine fouls and went 7-for-10 on free throws. He also had two assists and two steals.
It was his eighth career double-double and the sixth time he has scored at least 20 points.
Point guard Dre Kindell scored 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting with two three-pointers plus three assists and two steals, while Owen Larson and Andrew Alia each scored 11. Alia went 3-for-5 from deep and Larson handed out four assists. Justin Burns contributed a solid line with seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks as well.
The Bulldogs struggled at the free throw line, shooting just 61 percent, but had a 30-24 edge in points in the paint, outrebounded the Jaguars 31-29 and held them scoreless the last 6:01 of the first half, when Drake turned a 27-23 deficit into a 33-27 lead at the break.
Kindell buried a three ball from the right of the key to start that surge, then threaded his way through the defense for a layup to put Drake ahead to stay at 28-27. Larson followed with a steal and pass to Dothan Ijadimbola for layup, making it 30-27, and a Larson trey produced the six-point margin at halftime.
The Bulldogs kept it up coming out of the break. Kindell scooped in a left-handed layup and when Alia fed Carroll for a layup, the lead had ballooned to 37-27. Drake later built the lead to 12, but the Jaguars wouldn’t go away, and the game fell into a pattern.
Southern would cut into the lead, pulling to within five or six points, and Drake would get it back to double figures. The Jaguars would come back again, but Drake would open it back up.
Drake twice led by 14, the second time at 71-57 when Carroll drove for a bucket with 3:13 remaining. An 11-2 Southern run chopped the deficit to 73-68 with 46 seconds left, but the threat ended there.
After a Drake timeout, the Bulldogs broke the Jaguars’ press and Burns fed Alia for a layup with 33.3 seconds left. Larson then rebounded a Southern miss and the Bulldogs dribbled out the final seconds.
Malik Ferguson’s 17 points led Southern (0-3), which was picked for second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Daniel Dormu added 15 points for the Jaguars.
“We punched them early and they punched back,” Drake head coach Eric Henderson said. “They took a lead and we were able to finish out the first half in a strong way. We got 10 straight stops, which was huge for us, then retook the lead and that’s what we want to see. Talk about responding to adversity, that’s exactly what we did and I’m really proud of our guys for that response.”
Drake will remain at home for a Friday night date with South Dakota tipping off at 6:30.
Team Notes
—Drake improved to 2-0, marking the sixth time in the last seven seasons the Bulldogs have opened the campaign with a 2-0 mark.
—Drake also improved its home record in the Knapp Center to 107-22 dating back to the 2018-19 season.
—Drake shot 46.2 percent (24-52) from the floor including 54.2 percent (13-24) in the second half.
—Drake closed out the first half with a 10-0 run to turn a 27-23 deficit into a 33-27 halftime lead with guard Dre Kindell igniting the flurry scoring five straight points. The Bulldogs extended the run to 14-0 with two baskets to start the second half. It marked Drake’s fifth double-digit run of the season after collecting four in its season opener against Central.
—The Bulldogs held Southern scoreless during the last 6:01 of the first half, while the Jaguars committed five turnovers in their last six possessions of the first half.
—The Bulldogs outrebounded Southern 31-29, while owning a 14-8 advantage in second-chance points. Southern owned a 16-13 rebounding advantage in the first half.
—Drake forced Southern into 21 turnovers, while collecting nine steals.
Player Plaudits
—Transfer Jon Carroll led Drake with 21 points, including 19 in the second half while making six of eight shots from the floor. It marked Carroll’s sixth career 20-plus scoring game including his second at Drake.
—Carroll added a game-high 11 rebounds, while enjoying his eighth career double-double including first at Drake.
—Transfer guard Dre Kindell tallied 17 points with nine coming in the second half.
—Junior guard Owen Larson, making a team high eighth straight start, chipped in with 11 points along with a team-high four assists.
—Swingman Andrew Alia, appearing in a team high 58th career game, added 11 points including six in the first half.
—Alia made a team-high three three-point baskets, marking the eighth time in his career that he made three or more-pointers in a game.
The Series
—Drake improved its series record to 2-0 against Southern after winning the first meeting, 81-58, Dec. 16, 1986, in Des Moines.
