JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.— Lincoln fought off a Drury rally for a 65-63 win over the Panthers on Thursday night in Jefferson City, Missouri.
 
The Panthers fell to 6-7 and 1-5 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while the Blue Tigers won their fifth straight to improve to 11-3 and 3-3 in the GLVC.
 
Drury trailed by nine, 61-52, with 2:04 remaining, but a flurry of steals by the Panthers sparked a comeback and brought them within a point of the lead, 62-51, with 1:01 left. Lincoln hit free throws to go back up by three, but a lay-up by Logan Applegate cut their margin to one again with 10 seconds remaining. Max Ekono made one of two foul shots with eight seconds left, and the Panthers had a 25-foot three-point attempt come up short to give Lincoln a 65-63 win.
 
"I'm proud of our effort," said Drury head coach Chris Foster. "We recommitted ourselves this week after a tough weekend in Kansas City and I think our guys showed their character, resiliency and willingness to make some changes. I'm disappointed for them that we couldn't pull this one out."
 
Applegate finished the game with 23 points, scoring 21 of them in the second half. The junior from Nevada, Missouri, went 7 for 10 from the field and 4 for 6 from three-point range. Zach Howell added 16.
 
Malcolm Davis led Lincoln with 22 points and scored all of them in the second half.
 
The Panthers shot 40 percent, going 20 for 50, but were 7 for 25 from three-point range. The Blue Tigers also shot 40 percent, hitting 19 of 48 shots. Lincoln was 11 for 25 from behind the three-point line.
 
Drury concludes a stretch of five straight road games on Saturday when they take on 17^th ranked Missouri S&T at 3 pm in Rolla, Missouri.
 
 
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