SPRINGFIELD, Mo.-- The Drury Panthers captured a wild win on Thursday night, holding off two desperation shot attempts by Upper Iowa in the final ten seconds to claim an 82-81 decision over the Peacocks at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
 
In a game where they held the lead for 39 of the 40 minutes of action, the Panthers, trailing by one point with 20 seconds to play, got a baseline jumper from junior Logan Applegate to take the lead, then watched as the final efforts from Upper Iowa missed their mark and they pocketed the win and improved to 10-9 overall and to 5-7 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action.
 
After losing the lead to the Peacocks with under two minutes to play, an Applegate free throw preceded his game-winner and provided the difference.
 
"He can score the ball in a lot of different ways, so it's a good luxury to have, to put the ball in his hands late in the game and trust he'll make the play," said Drury head coach Chris Foster.
 
Almost matching Applegate's work was the performance by sophomore Zach Howell, who matched his career-best scoring effort with 25 points, including a 6 of 12 shooting effort from three-point range.  Senior Brock Wakefield also finished in double figures, with 14 points, his best outing of the season.
 
"I think we've kind of turned a corner after hitting a bit of a road bump at Illinois-Springfield on Saturday, but overall just proud of our overall effort," added Foster.
 
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Upper Iowa as they dropped to 14-6 overall and 8-4 in GLVC play.  The Peacocks were paced in scoring by Nick Reid, who closed with a game-high 28 points.
 
The Panthers continue their home stand on Saturday, February 1st when they will host Lewis in a 3 pm contest at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.