DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -Drake got 17 points from Josh Young and 16 from Aaron Hawley on Saturday night to defeat North Dakota 72-63.
The Bulldogs (3-5) were ahead 37-27 at halftime and opened the second half with a 12-2 run to build that lead to 49-29. North Dakota (1-8) got within six, 69-63, in the final minute but ran out of time down the stretch.
Neither team shot the ball well. Drake hit just 38.3 percent (18 for 47) of its shots from the field and 26.9 percent (7 for 26) from 3-point range. North Dakota was even worse, shooting 35.7 percent (20 for 56) from the field and 21.4 percent (6 for 28) from long range.
Travis Mertens led the Fighting Sioux with 13 points, followed by Spencer Goodman with 12, Chris Clausen with 11 and Patrick Mitchell with 10.
