Drury will attempt to lock up a third consecutive Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division title and a first-round league tourney bye when the Panthers play host to Missouri Science & Technology in the regular season finale Thursday night at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.

It's "Senior Night" for the Panthers, as Drury will recognize its four senior players - Cameron Adams, Ben Fisher, Mike Nwelue and Drake Patterson - in festivities immediately following the conclusion of the Lady Panthers-Lady Miners game that tips off at 5:30. Men's tipoff is slated for approximately 7:45 p.m. There will be a short "meet and greet" reception for the DU seniors following the game in the Plaster Gallery banquet room.

In addition, tonight is the second of two nights this season where Drury will be raising money for Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) Awareness. All proceeds from the sale of the Andy's Frozen Custard cups at the Snack Attack stand in The O' will go to the American Heart Association for CHD research ane awareness. Donations above and beyond the $2 price of the Andy's treats are accepted and encouraged.

Drury will take marks of 17-8 overall and 11-6 in the GLVC, good for a one-game lead over second-place Truman State (10-7) in the West. A Panthers' victory would clinch the outright West title, the No. 2 seed in the GLVC Championship post-season tourney and a bye from Sunday's first round at campus sites. A DU loss and Truman victory at Quincy on Thursday would give the Bulldogs those perks, since they hold the (head-to-head) tie-breaker against the Panthers.

The Panthers will be attempting a series sweep of the Miners (9-16, 2-15), after winning 79-63 at S&T in Rolla on December 6. In that earlier matchup, the Panthers led 39-30 at the half and pushed the advantage as high as 21 points in the second half before the Miners cut it to the final 16-point deficit. 

Kameron Bundy had 26 points and Cameron Adams added 21 points in the first meeting. Adams has missed the last two DU games (back injury) and his status is questionable for Thursday's contest. Desmond Buerge had 14 points and Zach Ellis added 12 points for the Miners, who outrebounded Drury 34-28.

Adams averages 16.9 points and Bundy adds 16.8 points per game to lead the Panthers.

Buerge averages 13.7 points and adds 5.0 rebounds, while Ellis contributes 11.9 points per game for the Miners, who've lost five straight and 14 of their last 15.

Drury leads the all-time series with the Miners 32-5. The Panthers are 19-0 against S&T since the teams joined the GLVC in 2005-06.

Thursday's game can be heard on JOCK 98.7 FM (streamed live at www.jock987.com) and is available on a free, live webcast at www.drurypanthers.com/watch. It will also be televised by Mediacom Connections 22.

GAME NOTES

*Adams has scored 1,458 points and grabbed 619 rebounds in 117 career games at DU to rank 17th in scoring and 18th in rebounding on the all-time DU charts. He joins Lonnie Holmes, Jerry Alexander, James Bone, Gail Fredrick, Marc Ridlen, Roland Schultz, Chris Mortellaro and Tony King as the only Panther players in the program's history to rank in the Top 20 in both categories.

*Patterson, who has played in 120 career games as a Panther, has scored 782 points and made 184 3-pointers in his four seasons with the Panthers. Fisher has played in 93 games and scored 197 points, including a career-high 15 points in Saturday's win over Rockhurst at The O'. Nwelue is in his second season at DU after transferring from Southwestern Assemblies of God.

*Drury has locked up at least a share of the GLVC West title for the fifth time in the last six years and seventh time in 10 seasons as a league member.

*Drury fell out of Top 10 in the NCAA-II Midwest Region rankings released on Wednesday. The Panthers had been eighth in the initial rankings a week ago before the loss at home to William Jewell. The top eight in the final rankings (March 8) will advance to the NCAA-II tourney.

*The Panthers lead the GLVC in 3-point FG defense (.328),  are second in turnover margin (plus 4.24), rank third in scoring defense (65.5 ppg) and are fourth in assists per game (15.55) and steals per game (8.52). Individually, Bundy leads the GLVC in steals (2.24 per game) and minutes played (33.40 per game), while Adams is fourth in the GLVC in FG percentage (.652).

*Should the Panthers win Thursday, they would play in the GLVC Championship quarterfinals next Thursday (March 5) at the Family Arena in St. Charles at a time and versus an opponent to be determined. For more information on the GLVC tourney, visit the league's website page by clicking this link.