DES MOINES, Iowa – The shorthanded Saint Louis Billikens dropped a 75-69 decision to Drake Wednesday night in nonconference men's basketball action at the Knapp Center.
 
The Billikens dip to 5-5 on the year, while Drake, the Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorite, improves to 8-1.
 
It was a tale of two halves. The Billikens came out firing in the first half and took a 16-point lead into the break, 41-25. However, Drake outscored the Bills 50-28 in the second session to post the home victory.
 
Gibson Jimerson led the Billikens with 23 points, playing every minute of the game on a bum ankle. He surpassed both Dick Boushka and Jordan Goodwin on the Billikens' all-time scoring list in the game and now sits at No. 11.
 
Freshman center Bruce Zhang finished with career highs of six points and six rebounds. Fellow freshman Cian Medley scored eight points and dished out three assists. Both Zhang and Medley had their first-career starts as SLU had just eight scholarship players available.
 
After going down by 19 early in the second half, Drake utilized a 13-0 second-half run to get back into it. The scoring spurt got to 19-3 as the Bulldogs tied it at 51-all with 11 minutes remaining.
 
Back-to-back buckets by Medley and tough baskets by Kellen Thames and Tim Dalger put the Billikens back in front.
 
But a game-deciding 12-0 run in the final three minutes put the game out of reach as Drake completed the come-from-behind win.
 
At the start of the game, Drake nailed a pair of 3s at the start to go up 6-0. The Bulldogs led 11-5 until a 12-0 SLU run pulled the Billikens ahead 17-11 at the 12:00 minute mark.
 
The Bulldogs trimmed their deficit to one at 23-22 before another Billiken run put the SLU lead into double-digits in the first half. SLU forced turnovers defensively and scored in transition on the other end as part of a 15-0 run late in the first. SLU finished the half on an 18-3 spurt and took a 16-point advantage (41-25) into the break.
 
The Billikens are back in action on Saturday afternoon, hosting Hofstra for a 2 p.m. tipoff at Chaifetz Arena. The game will be televised on Bally Sports Midwest.