LAS VEGAS - Drury used a late second-half run to grab some breathing room and the 12th-ranked Panthers held off Cal State-San Bernardino for a 74-71 victory in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic Thursday evening at the South Point Hotel and Casino.

Drury improved to 7-1 with the victory, setting up a big test on Friday when the Panthers take on unbeaten (9-0) and nationally fifth-ranked Tarleton State at 7:45 p.m. (CST) to close out the two-day event. The Texans defeated Western Washington 72-65 on Thursday.

In a nip-and-tuck game, a Kameron Bundy steal and layup followed by two Trevor Clay free throws capped a 10-0 run that gave the Panthers a 61-51 lead with just under five minutes remaining. 

CSSB cut the deficit to six (62-56) with just under four minutes to play, but could get no closer as Bundy answered with a bucket and the Coyotes turned it over at the other end to trail by eight with 2:42 left. After a Cameron Adams free throw, a CSSB 3-pointer by Isaiah Morton with 1:50 left got it back down to six again and a Jacob Thomas layup and two Tevin Harris free throws made it a two-point game (65-63) with just under a minute to go.

But Bundy countered with a free throw with 51 seconds left to push it back to three (66-63). Morton made just one of two free throws with 26 seconds left to get it back to a two-point game, and senior DU guard Ben Fisher answered with two free throws to move the Panthers back up 68-64 four seconds later.

Bundy canned two free throws with 15 seconds left make it a 70-66 lead, but a Morton layup cuts it to two (70-68) with eight seconds remaining.

Sophomore DaShaun Stark, in one of the best games of his DU career, made two more free throws with eight seconds to go to push it back to four, and Cameron Adams added two more after a Coyotes turnover to seal it as Drury held on for the triumph on the court where it lost twice in 2012 prior to winning its first NCAA-II national championship three months later.

"It was not easy ... we had a couple of young men step up and make some free throws that were very critical, and that's toughness from Ben (Fisher) and DaShaun (Stark)," Drury coach Steve Hesser said. "We did some nice things ... obviously you can't have 19 turnovers and be good, but I really liked our attitude and our willingness to be coached in the last 10 to 12 minutes of the game."

Bundy finished with 17 points and Adams added 14 points for the Panthers, who held CSSB (2-4) to 39 percent shooting from the field (22 of 57). 

Morton led the Coyotes with 24 points, while Thomas finished with 11 for a San Bernardino team that won 24 games and reached the NCAA tourney last season. 

The Coyotes led 31-30 at the half. 

Both teams committed 19 turnovers, and CSSB claimed a final 33-31 advantage on the boards, with Nwelue's six pacing the Panthers.

"We need to correct some things and we need to get better defensively and on the backboards," Hesser said. "When you have some new or inexperienced guys, it's hard to get them to be collective in their thought, because they're worried about themselves. But the game is so much easier to play when you think of your teammates, and that's what we continue to work toward. I applaud them for their play the last 10 or 12 minutes because their heads and hearts were in the right place, and that's encouraging.

"All in all, it was a step in the right direction. Now we've got to go get ready to play (Tarleton) tomorrow. They're very athletic, very tough and well coached, so that's a good combination. We'll have our hands full tomorrow."