Drake raced out to a 16-point halftime lead and rolled to a 77-56 victory at Illinois State. The Redbirds got no closer than 10 in the second half as the Bulldogs improve to 6-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference and 15-3 overall.

That’s Drake coach Darian DeVries. It was the Bulldogs’ third straight win and their second straight blowout victory on the road.

Tucker DeVries scored 25 points. Center Darnell Brodie had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Drake shot 56 percent for the game.