SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Drury Panthers got their offense back on track Thursday with 86-73 win over McKendree at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
The Panthers had their best shooting game in nearly three weeks as they shot 53 percent from the field and opened up a 31-24 halftime lead to a 23-point advantage in the second half. Drury put up 55 points in the second half outscoring the Bearcats 55-49. 
 
The Panthers snapped a four-game losing streak with the win and improved to 14-8 and 7-7 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. McKendree dropped to 9-12 and 3-10 in the league.
 
"We needed this," said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. "Going through the last two weeks, we were beaten down a little bit. I thought we made some improvements on Tuesday and Wednesday in practice. This looked a little more like how we're supposed to play."  
 
Freshman Isaac Johnson had 20 points for Drury. The Springfield-Kickapoo product hit five three-pointers and went 7 for 12 from the floor. Four other Panthers reached double-figures including Joshua Palmer with 14 points and Douglas Moore came off the bench to score 14.
 
McKendree's Justin Blanks scored a game-high 23 points. David Franklin added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Bearcats.
 
Drury plays their final regular season home game on Saturday hosting Illinois-Springfield for Senior Day and Homecoming. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. Tickets are available by calling the O'Reilly Family Event Center box office at 417-873-6389.
 

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