SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Playing their first game since Dec. 18, Drury showed some rust in the first half but shook that off in the second half to rally from a double-digit deficit only to fall short 80-76 at Illinois Springfield on Thursday.
 
The Panthers fell to 4-7 and 1-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while the Prairie Stars won their fourth straight to get to 6-6 and 1-3 in the GLVC.
 
Drury made only nine of 30 shots in the first half for 30 percent and trailed 41-30 at halftime. The Panthers fell behind by 16 in the early moments of the second half, but found a spark to reel off a 16-0 run and drew even at 48-48 with 12:30 remaining on a Ryce Piper lay-up.
 
Quenton Shelton caught fire during that run and went on to score 25 points in the second half alone and ended the game with a career-high 29 points. The sophomore from Lebanon went 12 for 18 from the floor and 4 for 10 from three-point range.
 
After the Panthers led by as much as seven, Illinois Springfield fought back to take the lead with 2:27 left on a lay-up by Jack Weber that gave the Prairie Stars a 73-71 edge. Obi Okafor tied the game at 75-75 with free throws inside the game's final minute, but UIS would go 5 for 6 at the foul line in the final 44 seconds to hold off Drury and win by four.
 
Drury shot 63 percent in the second half and connected on 7 of their 12 three-point attempts that half to get back in the game. The Panthers could only hit 5 of their 11 free throws after halftime as they fell short by four.
 
Drury head coach Chris Foster returned to the Drury bench after an illness kept him away from the team in December. After the game, Foster said he could see the team had progressed in recent weeks during his absence.
"There's been a lot of growth since I've been gone and that's a huge credit to our coaching staff," he said. "Our staff did an unbelievable job to help our team get better, and I thought that was on display tonight. It didn't result in getting the win, but I saw some things that we can build on if we can continue to get better."
 
Malek Davis added 14 points for Drury while Asa Hutchinson chipped in 11.
 
Chase Robinson led the Prairie Stars with 20 points, and Jack Weber added 19.
 
Drury's game on Saturday against Lewis has been canceled due to cases of COVID-19 on the Flyers roster. The next scheduled game for the Panthers is Thur., Jan. 13 at William Jewell. Tipoff is 7:30 pm in Liberty, Missouri.
 
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