DES MOINES — Bennett Stirtz scored 20 points to guide Drake to a 65-46 victory over Belmont on Sunday as the Bulldogs ran their win streak to 12 to begin the season.

Stirtz made 8 of 16 shots from the floor and all four of his free throws for the Bulldogs (12-0, 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference). He added four assists and three steals. Daniel Abreu made three 3-pointers and scored 15 with five rebounds.

Sam Orme came off the bench to score 11 and lead the Bruins (9-4, 1-1). Fellow reserve Brody Peebles scored 10.

Stirtz had 13 points in the first half to help the Bulldogs to a 39-21 advantage at intermission.

Hutson scores 20 as UNI defeats Southern Illinois

CEDAR FALLS — Jacob Hutson’s 20 points helped Northern Iowa defeat Southern Illinois 78-67 on Sunday.

Hutson shot 7 of 10 from the field and 5 for 7 from the line for the Panthers (8-5, 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference). Tytan Anderson added 15 points while shooting 6 of 7 from the field and 3 for 3 from the line while he also had 10 rebounds. Max Weisbrod went 4 of 7 from the field (2 for 5 from 3-point range) to finish with 10 points.

Jarrett Hensley finished with 20 points and six rebounds for the Salukis (5-8, 0-2). Ali Abdou Dibba added 10 points for Southern Illinois. Drew Steffe had eight points.

Northern Iowa took the lead with 1:02 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Hutson led his team in scoring with 10 points in the first half to help put them ahead 38-34 at the break. Northern Iowa turned a 13-point second-half lead into a 27-point advantage with a 14-0 run to make it a 73-46 lead with 8:38 left in the half. Hutson scored 10 second-half points in the matchup.