Drake 84, Georgia Southern 73

DES MOINES, Iowa --- Drake took advantage of 12 Georgia Southern turnovers in the first half and used nine three pointers to win 84-73 Friday night at the Drake Knapp Center.

The Bulldogs (8-2) advance to the Hy-Vee Classic finals Saturday where they will take on Stephen F. Austin State. The Eagles (3-4) face North Dakota State in the opener at 5 p.m. CST.

Drake’s Josh Young led all players with 26 points and headed up a contingent of four in double-figures. Craig Stanley tallied 14 and Jonathan Cox and Josh Parker had 11 each.

Junior Antonio Hanson came off the bench to record a team-high 21 points, all from behind the three-point line. He converted seven of his 13 long-range attempts which are tied for sixth-best in
school history.

Sophomore Willie Powers added 14 points and a team-best four assists. Freshman Ben Drayton III tied his career high of 12 points and junior Tyler Troupe tallied 10 points and eight rebounds.

Three consecutive 3-pointers by Drake late in the opening 20 minutes, part of a 9-2 run, took a tie game and converted it into a seven-point advantage. The Bulldogs shot 7-for-17 from behind the arc in the first half and 9-for-28 in the game. They came into the night averaging 9.8 three pointers per game, 11th-best in the nation.

The Bulldogs scored the last four points of the first half to take a 38-29 lead into the break. They stretched that to 20 early in the final period after a 12-1 run.