Drake blows big lead, beats Missouri in March Madness opener - ESPN

WICHITA, Kan. — Bennett Stirtz scored 21 points and No. 11 seed Drake, a team relying heavily on Division II transfers, held on after blowing most of a 15-point lead to beat sixth-seeded Missouri 67-57 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Tavion Banks added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (31-3), who along with first-year coach Ben McCollum advanced to a second-round matchup with third-seeded Texas Tech or No. 14 seed UNC Wilmington on Saturday.

«We just fought,» said McCollum, who won four D-II national titles at Northwest Missouri State before taking the Drake job last April. «That's kind of what we have to do, is just continue to grind and compete. We have guys that want to do that.»

Missouri (22-12) grinded, too, reducing that 15-point deficit to one down the stretch. But the Tigers had expended too much energy, and Drake scored the next six points to take back control and put the game away.

Caleb Grill had 14 points to lead the Tigers. Tamar Bates had 10 before fouling out.

«It's a memorable season for our guys, a great accomplishment to say the least, but it was cut short. There's no doubt about it,» Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. «It's loser goes home, and we didn't do enough to come away with a win.»

As expected, the game was a stylistic clash: Drake and its nation-leading scoring defense trying to force a rock fight, and Missouri with its top-10 scoring offense trying to push the tempo whenever it had the chance.

There were very few until the second half.

The Bulldogs made every shot a chore, and at the other end, they patiently probed for openings. Usually it was Stirtz — one of the Northwest Missouri State quartet who followed McCollum to Drake — who was knocking down a