LEBANON, Ill.— Drury outscored McKendree 45-29 in the second half to pick up a 72-60 road win over Bearcats in Lebanon, Illinois on Thursday night.
 
The Panthers improved to 9-8 and pulled even with McKendree in the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings moving to 3-3 in the league. The Bearcats fell to 7-8 and 3-3 in the conference.
 
Drury trailed 31-27 at halftime while shooting only 35 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes, but the Panthers put together a 21-6 run in an eight-minute span that started early in the second half to take control of the game.
 
"When we talked our guys at halftime, we said 'get an o-board, get a deflection, take a charge,'" said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. "We did some gritty things in the second half, and then our offense got better. We were also able to get some easy shots and some lay-ups in that stretch."
 
Drury senior Allen Billinger led all scorers with 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field while Conley Garrison added 11 for the Panthers.
 
After shooting 35 percent in the first half, Drury ended the game hitting 47 percent of their shots going 29 for 62. McKendree went 45 percent from the field (23 for 51) but was only 5 for 22 from three-point range. The Panthers out-rebounded the Bearcats 35-28 while grabbing 12 offensive rebounds.
 
Drury's bench gave the Panthers a lift as they outscored McKendree's reserves 44-5. In addition to Billinger's 19 points that came off the bench, Douglas Moore had 10, and Sam Marshall added nine on 3 for 5 shooting from behind the three-point arc.
 
Giovanni Offard, Nate Michael, and Nolan Gerling all had 13 points each to lead McKendree.
 
The Panthers continue their road trip on Saturday when they play at the University of Illinois Springfield at 3 p.m.
 
 
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