Drake came into Monday night’s game with College of Charleston with a reputation as a poor 3-point shooting team early in the season.
The Bulldogs, who won 31 times last season, including an opening round game in March Madness, had been shooting just 30 percent from beyond the arc in their first four contests of the year.
Consider that slump over.
Jalen Quinn scored 17 points and Andrew Alia added 13 points to lead five players in double figures as Drake defeated College of Charleston 71-62 on Nov. 17 at TD Arena.
The Bulldogs (3-2) had their best shooting night of the season from 3-point range, going 11 of 31 from distance (36 percent).
College of Charleston guard Jlynn Counter, the former Middle Tennessee State standout, was the lone bright spot for the Cougars (2-3). The graduate student scored a team-high 21 points and hauled down seven rebounds. Mister Dean added was the only other Cougars to score in double figures with 12 points.
Key Stats
• College of Charleston’s shooting issues continued against Drake. The Cougars were just 1 of 24 in the season opener against Tusculum at TD Arena. Charleston made 6 of 25 (24 percent) from 3 against the Bulldogs.
Charleston wasn’t much better from inside the arc. The Cougars shots just 36 percent from the floor.
• College of Charleston starting center Christian Reeves missed the game against Drake with a shoulder injury. Reeves is listed as day-to-day.
Reeves started the first four games of the season and was averaging 7.2 points and 6.8 rebounds a game.
• Former NBA standout Rasheed Wallace was at the game Monday night, sitting behind the Cougars bench. Wallace and Cougars assistant coach Jeff McInnis played together at North Carolina.
Wallace spent 15 seasons in the NBA, playing for four teams. He averaged 14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds a game during his NBA career.
• Drake is unbeaten at TD Arena over the past two seasons, having won their division in last year’s Charleston Classic.