After a fast start saw DePaul jump out to a 14-2 lead, they slowly let Drake back into the game and escaped Des Moines with a 74-71 victory.

The Blue Demons (5-3) were led by junior point guard Billy Garrett Jr., who had 19 points. The Bulldogs’ (4-5) Reed Timmer led the game with 30 points.

It didn’t take long for DePaul to light up the scoreboard as they led the Bulldogs 14-2 with just under 16 minutes to go in the first half. Drake started to claw back, however, and by the eight minute mark they were back to within a basket at 22-20.

The teams went back and forth for the rest of the half and the Blue Demons took a 38-37 lead into the locker rooms, but not before a buzzer beater by Kale Abrahamson pulled Drake within one.

In the second half, DePaul went up by as many as nine points but let the Bulldogs back into the game again and it was a four-point game with 30 seconds to go. Garrett Jr. had fouled out by this point, which left the Blue Demons without their best ball handler, but the Blue Demons were still able to pull out the victory in a 74-71 fashion.

This is the fourth win in a row for DePaul and they faced undefeated Arkansas Little Rock Saturday at 9 p.m. at McGrath Phillips Arena.