SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Junior guard Cal Hartley made his first official game at the O'Reilly Family Event Center a memorable one Thursday night, as he poured in 24 points on exceptional long-range shooting, and the Drury Panthers held off the Hornets of Harris-Stowe State 94-87. The Towanda, Kansas native hit on 9 of 13 shots, including 6 of 10 from behind the three-point line to pace a second-half surge that carried Drury to its third win of the new season as they improved to 3-0.
 
"Cal's an excellent complement to Conley Garrison," said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. "Conley draws so much attention that he has space to work. He can score off the bounce and go in against the big guys, and he's just really crafty."
 
After trailing 43-38 at the half, Drury fell behind the Hornets by nine midway through the second half, but went on a 22-5 run and grabbed control of the game with under eight minutes remaining. They led 75-67 and extended that margin to ten points as the teams approached the final four minutes of action.
 
"Once we got it tied, we got some big stops and went down and executed, scored and stretched it out," added Hesser. "But give them credit, they showed some grit, made some stops, and made some baskets late."
 
Hartley's late shooting, along with strong support from fellow junior Garrison, sealed the deal for the Panthers in the second half. Garrison would finish with 21 points on the night, with sophomore Asa Hutchinson adding 13 and junior Obi Okafor tossing in 12.
 
The Hornets (1-3) were paced in scoring by Deshawn Munson, who finished with a game-high 28 points on 12 of 17 shooting from the field.
 
Drury out-rebounded the Hornets 31-27 for the game and shot 57 percent on the night hitting on 34 of 60 attempts. They were 10 of 27 from beyond the three-point arc and hit on 16 of 21 free throw attempts.
 
The Panthers return to action Saturday, November 23rd, when they host Blackburn College in a 3 pm game at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
 
#allweDUiswin

tm