Drury Panthers Game Preview
Drury Panthers (4-6, 1-1) at Illinois Springfield (5-6, 0-3)
Thur., Jan. 6, 2022 – 7:30 pm – Springfield, Ill.   
 
Spectator Policies at Illinois Springfield

Live Coverage
Radio-  JOCK 96.9 FM / 99.9 FM / 1060 AM
Audio- 969thejock.com, TuneIn
Live Video- GLVCSN.com/uis
Live Stats- uisprairiestars.com
 
Drury resumes schedule at Illinois Springfield
The Drury Panthers are expected to return to the court for the first time since Dec. 18, when they face Illinois Springfield on the road Thursday. Tipoff is at 7:30 pm in Springfield, Illinois.
 
The Panthers are 4-6, 1-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and had their first two games after the holiday break canceled due to COVID-19 issues on their roster. Drury's home game last Sunday against William Jewell, and their Tuesday game at Southwest Baptist, were both wiped off the schedule. Drury has also canceled their upcoming game on Saturday against Lewis canceled because of virus issues on the Flyers team.
 
Illinois Springfield is 4-5 and 0-3 in the conference. The Prairie Stars have not played since Dec. 30, when they defeated Culver-Stockton at home 68-65. UIS has won three straight games, all non-conference contests, and not including an exhibition loss, 90-50, at Northwestern on Dec. 20.
 
Drury leads the all-time series against the Prairie Stars 11-2. The two teams did not play last year as the only scheduled contest was canceled due to COVID issues. The last time the two teams played was on Feb. 8, 2020, and the Panthers came away with an 86-78 win at the O'Reilly Family Event Center. The Panthers lost the last time they played at Illinois Springfield as they were edged 88-87 on Jan. 19, 2019. 
 
About the Prairie Stars
Illinois Springfield head coach Matt Brock has ties to the Ozarks having played in high school at Camdenton. His father, Skip Brock, is a member of the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, with several high coaching stops in southwest Missouri, including Mount Vernon. Matt Brock is in his third season at UIS and coaching for three seasons at Missouri Baptist.
 
James Kelly, a 6-5 sophomore from Milwaukee, leads the Prairie Stars in scoring averaging 13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds. 
 
Foster Back
Drury head coach Chris Foster made the trip to Illinois Springfield and will back on the Panthers bench Thursday night. Foster, in his first year with Drury, missed the team's last four games with health issues and was cleared by physicians to return to the squad.
 
Next Up
The next game on the Panthers schedule has already been canceled. Drury was due to host Lewis on Saturday, but COVID-19 issues with the Flyers has forced the cancelation of that contest.
 
The next contest on the Panthers schedule is Thursday, Jan. 13 at William Jewell. Game time is 7:30 pm in Liberty, Missouri.
 
QUICK FACTS
Record
Drury: 4-6, 1-1
UIS: 5-6, 0-3
 
Head Coaches
Drury: Chris Foster (1st year, 4-6/8th year, 121-86)
UIS: Matt Brock (3^rd year, 27-32/6^th year, 109-66)
 
Last Game
Drury: Lost vs. Southern Nazarene 75-64 (Dec. 18)
UIS: Won vs. Culver-Stockton 68-65 (Dec. 30)
 
Last 5 Games
Drury: 2-3
UIS: 3-2
 
Streak
Drury: Lost 1
UIS: Won 3
 
All-Time Series
Drury 11-2
 
Last Meeting
Drury 86 Illinois Springfield 78 (Feb. 8, 2020, at DU)
 
Next
Drury at William Jewell – Thur., Jan. 13
7:30 pm – Liberty, Mo.  
 
#allweDUiswin