The Salukis traveled to Des Moines, IA to take on the Drake Bulldogs with hopes to bring home a conference win.

Those hopes were crushed early in the first half when the Bulldogs went on a 16 point lead holding the Salukis scoreless the first six minutes of the game.

“We had some miscommunications in terms of some scouting and some of it was just losing shooters, they went 7-9 for threes in the first half, once you give that up it’s going to be tough,” Head Coach Mullins said postgame.

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The Dawgs shot only 36.5% from field goal range shooting 19-52 and 39.1% from behind the arch.

Southern came out of the half ready to get back what they lost in the first half, but Drake’s defense helped them maintain a double digit lead throughout the second half.

“A team playing at home, shooting the ball the way that they were , the defensive intensity picks up and we didn’t execute the way we should have,” Mullins said.

After getting an early lead in the game, Drake earned their highest lead of 28 with 4:30 left in the first half. The Salukis ended the game 82-59 putting them at 11-5 in MVC play.

“We didn’t play well enough in the first half and tried to fight back in the second, when you’re playing against a team of that caliber you’ve got to be able to play 40 minutes,” Mullins said.

The Salukis were led by Lance Jones and Jawaun Newton who both finished the game with 13 points and three rebounds. Followed by Xavier Johnson who ended with ten points. JD Mula had a team high of seven rebounds followed by Marcus Domask with 5.

The Dawgs will travel to Valparaiso, IN to take on Valpo Feb. 14 with hopes to redeem themselves with a conference road win.

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Sports reporter Joei Younker can be reached at [email protected].

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