SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- On Senior Day at Drury University on Saturday afternoon, the seniors did what seniors are supposed to do - lead, and the result was a season-ending 90-87 win for the Panthers over the Truman State Bulldogs at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
With the game tied at 87-87 with 33 seconds to play, senior Riley Naeger hit a short jumper in the lane to give Drury a two-point advantage, then following a missed shot by the Bulldogs, senior Quenton Shelton hit the front end of a one and one at the free throw line to provide the final margin as a desperation shot by Truman State fell short.
 
Shelton would finish as Drury's leading scorer, closing with 19 points, while Naeger, in his last stint as a Panther, finished with 18.
 
"I think how hard our guys played today is pretty indicative of what those seniors mean to us and our program," said Drury head coach Chris Foster.  "They're just great young men with great futures ahead of them."
 
Drury enjoyed a commanding 49-35 lead at intermission, but a furious three-point shooting performance by the Bulldogs brought them back and, on two occasions, gave them the lead before the Panthers late-game heroics sealed the win.
 
"We got a couple of big stops and Adam (Moore) had a big block late, then Riley had some big baskets," added Foster.  "And we really wanted to finish with those guys out there at the end."
 
While Drury was good on 13 of 25 from three-point range, a 16 for 28 effort from long range by Truman State pulled them back into it.
 
Graduate student Moore ended his Drury career with a 13-point effort, with sophomore Elijah Whitley contributing 15 points.  Junior Ryce Piper was a fifth Drury player in double figures, closing with 11.
 
The Panthers shot 58 percent from the floor for the game on 32 of 55 and also dominated the glass, outrebounding the visitors 37-21.
 
The Bulldogs also had five players in double figures, paced by 18 points from Xavier Hall.  Truman State dropped to 15-13 overall and 12-8 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
 
While the Panthers did not qualify to advance to the GLVC post-season tournament, the win gives them a 15-13 finish overall and an 8-12 standing in league play.
 
 
 
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