Bulldogs Take Season Opening Win Over Northern Arizona, 77-71

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Monday marked the official begin of the 2025-26 season for the Drake males’s basketball workforce underneath the management of recent head coach Eric Henderson because it took on Northern Arizona from the Sanford Pentagon as a part of the Field of 68’s Opening Day Marathon. The Bulldogs battled their strategy to a 77-71 win behind profession nights from Jalen Quinn and Wilguens Jr. Exacte for the primary victory within the Henderson period.
 
It was a little bit of a sluggish begin offensively for each side with the scoreboard studying 6-4 in favor of the Bulldogs on the first media timeout. Drake started the competition taking pictures 3-of-9 from the sector, getting buckets from Exacte, Quinn, and Jaehshon Thomas. All three of Drake’s makes got here from contained in the paint. On the defensive finish, the Bulldogs held NAU to simply 2-of-11 from the sector within the first 4 minutes.
 
Out of the break, the Bulldogs hit on a pair connections from three-point territory courtesy of Okku Federiko and Braden Appelhans pushing their lead out to 12-4 with simply over 12 minutes remaining within the half.
 
The Bulldogs maintained their eight-point benefit following one other splash from lengthy vary by Appelhans on the 10-minute mark, however Northern Arizona slowly chipped away on the deficit and finally introduced the sport again even at 21-21 with 3:21 on the clock.
 
Down the stretch, Drake and NAU traded baskets back-and-forth till a pull-up three by Ryan Ableman went via the ring simply earlier than the halftime horn sounded, which gave the Lumberjacks the lead on the break, 31-28.
 
Thomas led Drake within the scoring division over the primary 20 minutes of play with 11 factors on 5-of-9 taking pictures. The Bulldogs shot 37-percent from the sector within the first half and held the Lumberjacks to simply 30-percent taking pictures, however NAU, led by Abelman’s 15 factors, related on 5-of-12 from lengthy vary to offer them the slight edge.
 
When the second half picked again up, the Bulldogs confronted a barrage of three-pointers from NAU. The Lumberjacks went an ideal 4-for-4 over a six-minute stretch from distance and compelled a timeout from the Drake bench with the scoreboard now studying 51-40.
 
The sizzling taking pictures for the Lumberjacks finally got here to a halt, nonetheless, and the Bulldogs used a 7-0 run, capped by an Excate trey ball to tug again inside 4 factors, 51-47, with 10:52 remaining.
 
At the under-eight media timeout the Bulldogs nonetheless trailed, 61-56, following a floater excessive off the glass by Thomas to push him to fifteen factors on the day.
 
Drake remained regular and continued its comeback try as the sport rolled on. A nook jumper from Appelhans made it a one-point ballgame, 64-63, after which a fast lay-in from Jalen Quinn put the Dogs again in entrance, 65-64, with 5:20 to go.
 
Over the subsequent jiffy, Drake and NAU went back-and-forth, with the Bulldogs holding on two a two-point lead after a few free throws. Following a defensive cease, Quinn stepped up and drained a three-ball to place the Bulldogs up by 5, 71-66.
 
In a blink of an eye fixed, nonetheless, Northen Arizona tied the competition again up at 71-all with simply over two minutes remaining.
 
When the sport switched to closing time, Federiko got here up big with an offensive rebound putback giving the sting to the Bulldogs, 73-71. Free throws then iced the sport away and Drake secured the victory, 77-71.
 
“I’m so excited to be a Bulldog and just mostly happy for our guys,” Drake head coach Eric Henderson mentioned. “We introduced in an entire slew of youngsters and to have the ability to deliver them collectively… not a kind of guys performed collectively. Not one. So, to proceed to work on that connectivity, to proceed to work on that chemistry is so big. You need to have the ability to get a couple of wins alongside the way in which too and the resiliency we confirmed within the second half was terrific.
 
“I did think we were a little tight to start, but we needed somebody to make some energy plays, some hustle plays, and I thought Will was one of those guys that kind of brought that energy in the second half when we needed it.”
 
It was a balanced effort from the Bulldogs who had 5 gamers rating in double-figures. Quinn led the pack with 20 to go together with 4 boards and a pair of assists. Next in line was Thomas with 15. Appelhans and Excate every ended their night time with 14 factors. Appelhans drained a team-high three triples, whereas Exacte tallied 12 rebounds for a double-double. Federiko rounded out the bunch scoring 12 and added eight rebounds.
 
Drake returns to Des Moines for its dwelling opener versus Robert Morris on Thursday, Nov. 6. Tipoff is slated for six:30 p.m. CT from the Knapp Center.
 
Team Notes
•Drake, successful its ninth consecutive season opener, improved its report to 80-40 in season opening contests.
•Eric Henderson improved his collegiate profession teaching report to 130-70 in seven years.
•Eric Henderson grew to become the nineteenth coach at school historical past to win in his Drake teaching debut.
•Eric Henderson improved his profession teaching report on the Sanford Pentagon to 10-5, whereas successful his fifth straight recreation within the facility.
•Drake shot 45 % from the ground, making 27-of-60 pictures.
•The Bulldogs hit 31.8 % from three-point vary, making seven of twenty-two pictures.
•Five gamers scored in double figures for Drake.
•Drake outrebounded Northern Arizona, 46-39.
•Drake’s bench outscored Northern Arizona’s reserves, 16-9, with Braden Appelhans scoring 14 factors.
•There have been 4 lead adjustments and 7 ties within the recreation.
 
Individual Notes
•Senior switch guard Jalen Quinn, showing in his a centesimal collegiate profession recreation (earlier 99 at Loyola-Chicago), led a balanced scoring assault with a career-high 20 factors, together with 18 within the second half.
•Junior switch ahead Wilguens Jr. Exacte collected his first profession double-double with a career-high 14 factors and a career-high 12 rebounds. He additionally recorded a career-high three blocked pictures.
•Junior ahead Wilguens Jr. Exacte scored Drake’s first factors of the season with a layup off a feed from guard Jalen Quinn with 19:08 left within the first quarter.
•Senior switch guard Jaehshon Thomas netted 15 factors together with 11 within the first half.
•Junior switch guard Braden Appelhans got here off the bench scoring 14 factors, together with three three-point baskets, in 27 minutes of motion.
•Sophomore switch ahead Okku Federiko added 12 factors and eight rebounds
•Junior redshirt guard Andrew Alia, one in every of two holdovers from the 2024-25 Drake workforce, made his first collegiate begin for Drake enjoying 19 minutes.
 
The Series
•Drake improved its collection report to 2-0 towards Northern Arizona after successful the inaugural assembly, 76-56, within the second spherical of the Fresno State Classic Nov. 30, 2013