Quinn scores 31, No. 9 seed Drake beats No. 1 seed Belmont 100-81 in MVC Tournament quarters

Updated: Mar 6, 2026, 05:47 pm

ST. LOUIS -- — Jalen Quinn's 31 points led ninth-seeded Drake over No. 1 seed Belmont 100-81 on Friday in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The Bulldogs are the first No. 9 seed to beat a top-seeded team in the MVC Tournament. Drake, which has won back-to-back games after closing the regular season on an eight-game skid, plays the winner between No. 4 seed Murray State fifth-seeded UIC in the semifinals Saturday.

Quinn shot 8 of 19 from the field, including 2 for 8 from 3-point range, and went 13 for 16 from the free-throw line for the Bulldogs (14-19). Owen Larson scored 25 points and added eight rebounds and eight assists. Jaehshon Thomas had 13 points and went 5 of 8 from the field (1 for 4 from 3-point range). The Bulldogs snapped an eight-game slide.

Aidan Noyes finished with 19 points for the Bruins (26-6). Belmont also got 18 points from Sam Orme. Tyler Lundblade finished with 11 points and five assists.

Drake took the lead for good with 4:36 remaining in the first half. The score was 48-41 at halftime, with Larson racking up 13 points. Quinn scored 19 points in the second half to help lead the way as Drake went on to secure a victory, outscoring Belmont by 12 points in the second half.

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