LAS VEGAS - A strong second-half charge fell just short for No. 12 Drury on Friday, as the Panthers dropped a 64-60 decision to unbeaten No. 5 Tarleton State to close the South Point Holiday Classic at the South Point Hotel and Casino Arena.

Drury scored the game's first eight points, but then later trailed by as many as 14 points in the opening half and still was down by 11 (33-22) at the half. But the Panthers clamped down defensively and held the Texans (10-0) to just seven points in the first 11 minutes of the second half to get back into it.

Trailing 55-47 with 3:50 to play, the Panthers outscored Tarleton 13-5 over the next two minutes to tie the game at 60-all on Cameron Adams' layup with 53 seconds left. But the Texans countered with a layup at the other end by TaShawn Mabry, the Panthers turned it over on the ensuing possession when Kameron Bundy lost the handle, and Tarleton made enough free throws to close it out and hand Drury just its second loss in nine games heading into the holiday break.

Bundy finished with 16 points - 14 coming in the second half - to lead the Panthers, while Drake Patterson went 4-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with 12 points to go along with a team-high three steals.

Mabry finished with 15 points, Mo Lee added 14 points and Michael Hardge had 13 points and five steals for the Texans, who outrebounded the Panthers 28-20.

Davene Carter had nine rebounds to lead Tarleton, while Mike Nwelue had a team-high seven boards to go with his nine points for DU.

"We started the game, both teams were really energized for a second night of a weekend tournament deal this time of year ... the energy level tonight was March energy level," Drury coach Steve Hesser said. "We got off to the good start and then they - like good teams do - turned it up. They really came after us and they shook us. We were probably lucky just to be down 11 at the half ... I thought our guys showed some character to regroup and get back to 11.

"In the second half, I thought we grew up a little bit. Tarleton State is a very deep, athletic team. They've got good guards, and they've got good bigs. We did some good things in the second half and some guys grew up."

Tarleton State had 20 turnovers to 20 by the Panthers. Both teams made 20 of 41 shots from the field to finish at 49 percent, with Drury going 7-for-14 from 3-point range. The Panthers made just 37 percent from the field in the first half (7 of 19), but hit 13 of 22 shots after halftime (59 percent).

"We've got to quit turning the basketball over so much and we've got to rebound the ball better, but I liked what I saw out of my guys in the second half, and we had a chance to win it," Hesser said. "It's a bitter pill, and no one likes to lose, but I liked the way we fought in the second half. It could be good for us on down the road."

Drury is idle until returning to Great Lakes Valley Conference action with games at Indianapolis (January 2) and Saint Joseph's (January 4). The Panthers return to the O'Reilly Family Event Center, where they have a 31-game winning streak, to play Southern Indiana on Thursday, January 8 and Bellarmine on Saturday, January 10.