ST. LOUIS — The ninth-seeded Drake men’s basketball team delivered one of the biggest surprises of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Friday, routing top-seeded Belmont 100-79 in the quarterfinals at the Enterprise Center.

Drake (14-19) became the first No. 9 seed ever to reach the semifinals, extending the program’s MVC tournament winning streak to 11 games with a dominant offensive performance.

Senior guard Jalen Quinn led the Bulldogs with 31 points, recording his 18th game of the season with at least 20 points. Quinn went 13-for-16 at the free-throw line and continued a historic scoring campaign, moving into sixth on Drake’s single-season scoring list.

Sophomore guard Owen Larson added a career-high 25 points along with eight rebounds and eight assists, while Jaehshon Thomas scored 13 points off the bench and Eli Shetlar contributed 12.

Drake’s offense was sharp throughout, shooting nearly 60 percent from the field and knocking down 11 3-pointers. The Bulldogs also outrebounded Belmont 33-29.

After Belmont jumped out to an early 6-0 lead behind three-point shooting from Tyler Lundblade and Sam Orme, Drake quickly settled in. Back-to-back three-pointers from Andrew Alia and Quinn tied the game at 15 midway through the first half.

The Bulldogs seized control late in the opening period, closing the half on a 14-6 run. Larson scored 13 first-half points as Drake built a 48-41 halftime advantage.

Drake maintained the momentum in the second half, extending its lead to double digits with efficient shooting and strong guard play. Larson’s three-point play midway through the half pushed the margin to 19 points, and Belmont was unable to mount a sustained comeback.

Drake head coach Eric Henderson praised his team’s confidence and resilience after the upset.

“We had a great amount of belief,” Henderson said. “I know there wasn’t much belief outside of our locker room, and you’ll never know what is going to click and when it’s going to click and maybe we found something.”

Belmont (26-6), the MVC regular-season champion, was led by Aidan Noyes with a career-high 19 points. Sam Orme added 18 points and Tyler Lundblade finished with 11 points and five assists.

Despite hitting 14 three-pointers and shooting 42 percent from the field, the Bruins struggled to slow Drake’s offensive efficiency and could not recover from several empty possessions in the second half as the Bulldogs pulled away.

The victory also marked a historic milestone for Drake in St. Louis. The Bulldogs became just the second team to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the MVC quarterfinal round and the first No. 9 seed to win multiple games in the tournament and reach the semifinals.

With the win, Drake advanced to the MVC tournament semifinals and will face fifth-seeded Illinois-Chicago (18-14) in the 2:30 p.m. semifinal televised by CBS Sports Network.

Drake 100, Belmont 79

DRAKE (14-19) — Federiko 0-0 0-0 0, Alia 2-4 0-0 6, Larson 8-11 5-5 25, Quinn 8-19 13-16 31, Shetlar 4-7 2-2 12, Thomas 5-8 2-2 13, Goodbary 2-2 3-4 7, Carr 2-2 0-0 4, Exacte 0-1 2-2 2. TOTALS 31-54 27-31 100.

BELMONT (26-6) — Orme 7-11 0-0 18, Scharnowski 2-5 1-3 5, Jenkins 3-5 3-4 9, Lundblade 4-11 0-0 11, West 2-5 1-2 5, Smiley 1-10 0-0 3, Noyes 5-8 4-4 19, Dillon 2-9 0-0 5, Rogers 2-2 2-3 6, Dykstra 0-1 0-0 0, Haynes 0-0 0-0 0, Lemke 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Robbins 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 28-67 11-16 81.

Halftime–Drake 48-41. 3-Point Goals–Drake 11-28 (Larson 4-7, Alia 2-3, Shetlar 2-5, Quinn 2-8, Thomas 1-4, Exacte 0-1), Belmont 14-37 (Noyes 5-8, Orme 4-5, Lundblade 3-10, Smiley 1-5, Dillon 1-6, Dykstra 0-1, Jenkins 0-1, West 0-1). Rebounds–Drake 30 (Larson 8), Belmont 27 (Scharnowski 9). Assists–Drake 21 (Larson 8), Belmont 23 (Dillon 6). Total Fouls–Drake 15, Belmont 19.