Drake wins third straight MVC tournament Championship
Bennett Stirtz scored 24 points, Tavion Banks added 13 and top-seeded Drake defeated No. 2-seed Bradley 63-48 on Sunday to win Arch Madness for the third consecutive time.The Bulldogs (30-3) will be making their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth in the past five years. They won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship for the first time since 2019.A 3-pointer by Demarion Burch gave Bradley a 27-24 lead with four minutes left in the first half but the Braves did not score again until 15:20 remained in the second half. Drake finished the first half with a 7-0 run to lead 31-27 and the Bulldogs added the first six points of the second half.Drake led 46-41 with seven minutes left in regulation then Bradley went cold again. The Bulldogs went on a 15-2 run capped by a dunk and a 3-pointer by Stirtz.Bradley (26-8) went nearly 5 1/2 minutes without a made field goal before Darius Hannah scored in the paint to make it 61-47. Hannah’s bucket turned out to be the Braves’ only basket in seven attempts over the final 7:17.Hannah led Bradley with 19 points that included 7-of-11 shooting. Bradley shot 52% in the first half and 28% in the second, finishing at 42% for the game.Stirtz made 5 of 7 3-pointers and was 7 for 13 overall for Drake. Banks had a game-high nine rebounds. Drake hit on 46% from the field.’TIE GAME’: How Drake basketball fans are rallying around new head coach Ben McCollum by suiting up» Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
ST. LOUIS (AP) —Bennett Stirtz scored 24 points, Tavion Banks added 13 and top-seeded Drake defeated No. 2-seed Bradley 63-48 on Sunday to win Arch Madness for the third consecutive time.
The Bulldogs (30-3) will be making their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth in the past five years. They won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship for the first time since 2019.
A 3-pointer by Demarion Burch gave Bradley a 27-24 lead with four minutes left in the first half but the Braves did not score again until 15:20 remained in the second half. Drake finished the first half with a 7-0 run to lead 31-27 and the Bulldogs added the first six points of the second half.
Drake led 46-41 with seven minutes left in regulation then Bradley went cold again. The Bulldogs went on a 15-2 run capped by a dunk and a 3-pointer by Stirtz.
Bradley (26-8) went nearly 5 1/2 minutes without a made field goal before Darius Hannah scored in the paint to make it 61-47. Hannah’s bucket turned out to be the Braves’ only basket in seven attempts over the final 7:17.
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Hannah led Bradley with 19 points that included 7-of-11 shooting. Bradley shot 52% in the first half and 28% in the second, finishing at 42% for the game.
Stirtz made 5 of 7 3-pointers and was 7 for 13 overall for Drake. Banks had a game-high nine rebounds. Drake hit on 46% from the field.
‘TIE GAME’: How Drake basketball fans are rallying around new head coach Ben McCollum by suiting up
» Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page
» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
