ELSAH, Ill. – Drury men's basketball kicked off the new season with a bang Friday evening by erasing an 18-point deficit to hand Ohio Dominican a 70-65 setback at the GLVC/G-MAC Conference Challenge at Hay Field House.
The Panthers (1-0) outscored ODU 35-19 over the final 14 minutes of regulation by shooting .556 (15-of-27) from the floor and knocking down 10-of-14 free throws in the second half to notch their 21st win in their last 23 season openers dating back to 2003.
Colin Hardrick led the way for Drury, scoring 13 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to key the comeback. The redshirt sophomore received support from a trio of newcomers -- Avante Nichols, Keion Epps and KeShaun Thomas -- who combined for 30 points to help ignite the DU comeback.
Thomas, who finished with 13 points and matched Hardrick with a game-high seven rebounds, was particularly dominant during a key four-minute stretch over which he scored seven-straight Drury points and nine of 11 overall to help turn a three-point deficit into a 64-61 Panthers advantage.
Nichols also starred in his first Drury game action, throwing down a pair of dunks during the late scoring run, the second of which handed the Panthers the lead for good with just over three minutes to play.
The favorable outcome for Drury followed a strong start for Ohio Dominican, which used an 11-0 scoring run to establish a double-digit lead in the opening minutes. Avante Nichols recorded the first bucket of the contest for Drury, but Derek Goodman and Logan Ryan combined to account for 10 of ODU's first 13 points, while keying a defensive effort that held Drury scoreless for more than four minutes.
DU hit on just two of its first 17 attempts from the field, including 10-straight misses from beyond the arc to start the night. Hardrick's basket at the 15:13 mark snapped the Panthers' dry spell, but DU would go another seven minutes before converting its third field goal of the game on an Epps layup.
The Panthers heated up from that point, outscoring ODU 23-15 over the final eight minutes of the opening half to trim the margin to 38-38 entering the break.
Drury pulled to within five points on a Zach Howell free throw, but a 9-2 run for ODU stretched the margin to 11 -- the largest of the half for either club.
From that point, however, using key three-pointers by Ethan Whatley and Epps to spark the late run. Nichols electrified the crowd by finishing a reverse ally-oop dunk off of a feed from Epps, before Hardrick and Thomas delivered conventional three-point plays on back-to-back possessions to pull Drury even at 56-56.
The two offenses traded blows until Nichols came up with a steal in the ODU backcourt, drove the length of the court and threw down another thunderous dunk to put Drury on top to stay with just over three minutes left on the clock.
Hardrick helped seal the outcome with a tip in with 52 seconds left, then converted 3-of-4 free-throw attempts down the stretch.
Nichols finished with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Epps tallied seven points and a team-best five assists for Drury. Howell added nine points to go along with four steals and two blocks.
Brady Moore led ODU with 18 points, and Terrance Broughton scored 15 points and dished out six assists for the Panthers.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers wrap up their stay at the GLVC/G-MAC Conference Challenge with a 3 p.m. contest Saturday against Thomas More.
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