By Canadian Press on March 8, 2025.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — 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. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. The Associated Press 9