In a thrilling matchup at the Charleston Classic, the Drake Bulldogs triumphed over the Vanderbilt Commodores with a score of 81-70 on Sunday night. Contributing significantly to Drake’s victory were Wyoming transfer Cam Manyawu, who scored an impressive 18 points while shooting 8-of-11 from the field and grabbing 11 rebounds, and Bennett Stirtz, who tallied 16 points and provided 11 assists.

Mitch Mascari was another standout for Drake, finishing with 17 points after making 4 of 6 shots, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, alongside a perfect 6 of 6 from the free-throw line. Daniel Abreu also played a key role, adding 15 points to the team’s total. The Bulldogs now have an undefeated record of 6-0 this season.

Ben McCollum, in his first year as head coach for Drake after stepping in when Darian DeVries took the head coaching position at West Virginia, has brought his winning approach from his previous experience at Division-II Northwest Missouri State. During his tenure there, McCollum led the team to at least 24 wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance for 11 consecutive seasons.

The pivotal moment of the game came when Stirtz drove to the basket to give the Bulldogs a lead that they would not relinquish, triggering an 18-8 run that pushed the score to 55-45 with 12 minutes remaining. Despite a brief resurgence from Vanderbilt, topped by MJ Collins who scored two free throws followed by a 3-pointer to narrow the gap to five points, Drake swiftly countered by scoring 12 of the next 15 points. Following this outburst, the Commodores struggled offensively, failing to make a field goal for over five minutes.

This loss marked the first setback of the season for Vanderbilt, who held a 6-1 record after winning their opening six games for the first time since the 2007-08 season, when they started with 16 victories in a row.

Jason Edwards led the charge for Vanderbilt, scoring 26 points on 7-of-13 shooting while also converting 10 of 11 from the charity stripe. Other notable contributions included nine points each from Collins, A.J. Hoggard, and Chris Manon.