KIRKSVILLE, Mo.— Truman State held off Drury's come-from-behind effort for a 68-63 win over the Panthers on Saturday in Kirksville, Missouri.
 
The Bulldogs jumped to a 23-5 lead in the game's first eight minutes and the Panthers were further handicapped when the team's second-leading scorer, Juok Riak, went down with an ankle injury five minutes into the game. Riak did not return and Drury was already playing without guard Elijah Whitley with an injured hand, and forward Riley Naeger, who was serving a one-game suspension for a flagrant foul called in the closing seconds of Thursday's game at Upper Iowa.
 
The Panthers chipped away, though and nearly erased the early deficit before halftime as Brock Wakefield scored on a lay-up with one second left before the intermission and cut the Bulldogs lead to one, 39-38.
 
Drury took the lead early in the second half, but Truman State responded to go back ahead by eight, 50-42, with 12:45 left. The Panthers pulled even moments later, though, and PJ Ngambi's three-pointer with 4:36 remaining gave Drury a 61-58 lead, but was answered on the next possession by a Casen Lawrence trey that knotted the score at 61-61.
 
Lawrance came through again on a 25-foot bomb with 48 seconds left, putting Truman State in front for good, 66-63. Drury could not convert on two possessions down the stretch and fell by five.
 
Logan Applegate had a double-double for the Panthers, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. PJ Ngambi finished with a season-high 11 points.
 
Truman State's Matt Haefner had 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting and he went 4 for 6 from three-point range.
 
Drury shot 42 percent from the field to the Bulldogs 38 percent and the Panthers were 11 for 28 from three-point range while Truman State was 8 for 24. The Bulldogs shot 25 free throws, though, and made 18, while Drury was 4 for 8 from the foul line. The Panthers had only two players get to the free throw line in the game.
 
The Panthers fell to 10-7 and 3-6 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while Truman State moved their to 7-9 and 4-4 in the GLVC.
 
Drury is back at home for their next game as they host Quincy on Thursday at 7:45 pm in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
 
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