SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Rogers State held off a Drury charge in the second half for a 77-69 win over the Panthers in the O'Reilly Family Event Center on Saturday.
 
The Panthers fell to 1-1, while the Hillcats improved to 5-1.
 
Rogers State forced 12 Drury turnovers in the first half and led 37-28 at the intermission. The Panthers turned the game around in the second half, though, as they only committed three turnovers in the halftime and rallied back.
 
Drury took their first lead of the game with 10:11 remaining on a Juok Riak lay-up that put the Panthers in front 48-47. The two teams exchanged leads, but the Hillcats got some separation on the scoreboard when Andrew Mason scored on a lay-up to give Rogers State a 65-60 advantage with 3:05 left. The Hillcats hit free throws down the stretch to hold off the Panthers down the stretch.
 
"Give Rogers State credit; they've got a good team, and against a good team, you've got to play well for 40 minutes, and I thought we played well for about 20," said Drury head coach Chris Foster. "In the first half, we were driving into physical bodies and driving into help defense, and we were turning it over. In the second half, we moved the ball and got good shots."
 
Drury sophomore Zach Howell led all scorers with 23 points. The Springfield Catholic product hit five three-pointers and added five rebounds. Colin Hardrick, playing in his second collegiate game, had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Juok Riak had 14 points, all in the second half.
 
Andrew Mason had 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting to leading Rogers State, while Caden Fry had a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards for the Hillcats.
 
The Panthers are back on the court Thursday when they host Graceland for a 6 pm tipoff in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
 
 
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