FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— Drury used a 15-3 run midway through the second half to pull away from St. Thomas (Fla.) on their way to a 71-54 win in the Cruzin' Classic in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Tuesday.
 
The Panthers jumped out to a 17-3 lead to start the game, but the Bobcats fought back and pulled within 10 at halftime, 35-25.
 
St. Thomas cut Drury's lead to three with 11:25 remaining but the Panthers responded with back-to-back three's as Conley Garrison, and Allen Billinger connected from behind the arc sparking a 10-0 Drury run.
 
"We started the game well - we made shots and had some energy defensively," said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. "But they went to a zone, and we got real sloppy. We had 10 turnovers at halftime after having just four against the 12th ranked team in the country (Barry) on Sunday. But I'm proud of our guys in that we started to play well together; we started driving the basketball and getting into gaps."
 
Garrison led the Panthers with 18 points, six assists, and five rebounds while Andrew Ballock added 10 points and nine boards.
 
Drury shot 50 percent from the field and hit 15 of 32 three-point attempts to go 47 percent from beyond the arc. The Panthers never got to the free throw line as St. Thomas was whistled for just four team fouls. Drury held the Bobcats to 37 percent shooting as they went 19 for 53 from the floor. The Panthers also owned a 35-28 rebound advantage. 
 
Amir Hall led St. Thomas with 13 points. 
 
Drury improved to 7-5 while the Bobcats dropped to 5-6.
 
The Panthers are idle until Jan. 3 when they return to Great Lakes Valley Conference when they travel to William Jewell for a 7:30 p.m. game in Liberty, Missouri.
 
 
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