SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— The Quincy Hawks found their shooting touch early Thursday night...really early, hitting their first nine attempts of the game, including six of six from three-point range, and built a margin that the Drury Panthers could not overcome to claim an 83-78 decision at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
With their quick start, the Hawks broke in front 28-15 less than five minutes into the contest and although pressed by the Panthers repeatedly for the duration of the night, never yielded their early advantage and held on for the win.
 
"They came out and hit some shots early, but despite that, I thought in the first half there were some 50-50 balls that dug us into a deeper hole," said Drury head coach Chris Foster.  "And when you dig a hole like that, you put a lot of pressure on your offense to get you back into the game."
 
In the loss, the Panthers saw impressive balanced scoring, as five players reached double figures, led by sophomore Logan Applegate who finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, giving him his third double-double effort of the season.
 
Senior Quenton Shelton finished with 17 points for the Panthers, while senior Riley Naeger had 12.  Graduate student Adam Moore and sophomore Elijah Whitley added 10 points each as the Panthers dropped to 10-8 overall for the season and 3-7 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.
 
The Hawks, who improved to 10-8 and 5-5 in league play got a strong tandum scoring performance in the win, as Zion Richardson closed with 25 points while Isaiah Foster was one point behind with 24.  The duo collectively went ten of thirteen from three-point range, as Quincy finished 13 of 22 from beyond the arc.
 
The Panthers return to action on Saturday, January 27th, when they'll host Illinois-Springfield in a 3 pm game at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
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