SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- The Drury Panthers closed out the home portion of their 2017-18 season Thursday night hosting the Rockhurst Hawks at the O'Reilly Family Event Center. And it took some surprising and unexpected performances to carry the Panthers to a 65-61 decision over the Hawks.
 
Freshman Conley Garrison, from his point guard position, pulled down 11 rebounds on the night, but it was his long-range 3-point make with 3:15 to play that helped propel Drury to the win.  His jumper broke a 57-57 tie, and during the closing minutes, the Panthers hit a handful of free throws to hold off the Hawks and gain their eighth win in their last nine outings.
 
"I think having some grit, not wavering and getting out of your feelings when the ball's not going down was big," said Drury head coach Steve Hesser.  "We got 17 offensive boards and won the turnover battle. That's what was the difference tonight."
 
It was a sluggish start to the evening for the Panthers, as they hit on just 3 of their first 17 shots and only 1 of 12 from 3-point range and quickly fell behind the Hawks 11-2.  They then outscored Rockhurst 15-5 to grab a 17-16 lead, then traded leads back and forth before the visitors carried a 36-31 lead into halftime, scoring the final seven points of the half.
 
"At times we've gotten into our feelings when the ball isn't going in, and you've got to find other ways to win," added Hesser.
 
Junior Kolbe Kinghorn off the bench paced the Drury (20-5, 13-4 in GLVC) scoring for the contest with 16 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the field.  Junior Andrew Ballock added 14, and sophomore Isaac Johnson dropped in 10.
 
Junior Douglas Moore had 12 rebounds as the Panthers won the battle of the boards 41-36.  Both teams ended the evening shooting 36 percent for the game.  Drury on 21 of 58 and the Hawks 19 of 52.  Rockhurst closed the night 11 of 27 from three-point range, while the Panthers were just 9 of 35 from beyond the arc.
 
Travis House with 19 points and Eddie Muench with 14 lead the Rockhurst (13-14, 6-11 in GLVC) scoring.
 
The win keeps Drury atop the Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division, still one game in front of Truman State with one game remaining in the regular season, which the Panthers will play on Saturday when they travel to William Jewell in a scheduled 3 pm tip.
 
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