ST. LOUIS – The top seed Drake Bulldogs rallied after a rough first half to beat Belmont 57-50 and advance to the Missouri Valley Conference championship. Drake trailed the Bruins 30-21 at the half, but outscored Belmont 36-20 after half.

Bennett Stirtz led the way with 24 points for the Dogs.

Drake now has 29 wins on the year and will play 2-seed Bradley on Sunday for the title. Winner earns the automatic berth in to the NCAA tournament.