ST. LOUIS, Mo.– Drury built a 21-point lead midway through the second half and then held on for an 85-84 win at Maryville on Saturday.
 
The win raised the Panthers record to 18-4, 11-3 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and was their sixth straight win. Maryville dropped to 17-7, 9-6 in the GLVC and was just the second loss at home this season for the Saints.
 
Drury owned a 40-28 lead at halftime and then went up 66-45 with 11:35 left in regulation.
 
Maryville mounted a charge but was never within a possession of the lead until the Saints hit a three-pointer at the buzzer that made the final margin a one-point win for the Panthers.
 
"That's two games in a row that we've started the second half well," said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. "Maryville is a good team, and they present a lot of problems. It's not an easy place to play either, and I'm proud of our guys as they were able to make enough plays down the stretch."
 
Conley Garrison and Julius Walker both had 13 points to lead Drury. Kamau Kinder added 12 points while Isaac Johnson had 10.
 
Nolan Berry had 17 points and 16 rebounds for Maryville.
 
The Saints went 25 for 30 at the free throw line while Drury hit 12 of 18 from the foul line.
 
Drury shot 56 percent from the field in the game connecting on 31 of their 55 shots. The Panthers went 10 for 20 from three-point range in the first half and ended the game 11 of 25 from behind the arc.
 
Drury returns home for their next game on Thursday to take on Lewis at 7:45 p.m. at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
 
 
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