Drake defeats Belmont 57-50 in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal

Mar 9, 2025, 08:37 am

ST. LOUIS -- — Bennett Stirtz, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, had 24 points to lead Drake to a 57-50 victory over Belmont on Saturday in a conference tournament semifinal.

Stirtz added five rebounds and four steals for the Bulldogs (29-3), who set a school record for wins in a single season. Top-seeded Drake will play No. 2 seed Bradley or 11th seed Valparaiso in Sunday's final with an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Sam Orme led the Bruins (22-11) with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals.

Stirtz scored 16 points in the second half to help lead Drake rally from a 30-21 deficit at the break.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.