SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Powered by a red-hot shooting performance and five double-figure scorers, Drury men's basketball was in control from start to finish of a 108-68 non-conference victory over Ecclesia in its 2025-26 home opener Wednesday evening at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Drury (3-0) led for all but 16 seconds of the contest, as the Panthers shot a blistering .629 (22-of-35) from the floor in the first half and led by as many as 24 points before intermission. It took DU less than two minutes to build a 10-2 lead behind the shooting of Zach Howell, who accounted for eight of those points en route to a game-high 21-point performance.
The Panthers finished the night 40-of-66 (.606) from the field, expanding their lead to as many as 40 points to close out the contest. With the victory, Drury improved to 3-0 on the season, marking the second time in the last three years the Panthers have won each of their first three games.
The 108-point performance also marked the best single-game offensive output for the Panthers under head coach Chris Foster, and DU's top point total overall since a 118-point night against Missouri S&T on Jan. 13, 2018.
In addition to Howell's 21 points and career-best six assists, Isaiah Otyaluk turned in a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and Colin Hardrick added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists. Avante Nichols chipped in with 12 points on an efficient 6-of-6 effort from the floor that included four of the Panthers' eight dunks as a team. He also recorded game highs of eight boards and three steals, while freshman KeShaun Thomas registered his third-straight double-digit scoring effort to start his DU career, totaling 12 points.
The Panthers wasted no time in setting the tone for the night, bursting from the starting gate by knocking down their first four shots from the floor. Thomas got the ball rolling with a bucket in the paint on Drury's first possession of the night, before Howell converted a layup, then buried a pair of three-point attempts to fuel the early spurt.
Howell would start the game 5-for-5 from the field and drill his first four tries from beyond the arc, tallying 14 points first-half points to help stake Drury to a double-digit lead. He was assisted in that effort by Otyaluk, who came off the bench to hit 5-of-7 tries from the floor, including a trio of triples to match Howell's 14-point effort in just over 10 minutes of playing time in the half.
Two of those three-pointers came during an 11-2 run for DU that handed the home club a 46-25 lead with 5:40 left in the half. Howell drained his fourth three of the game and Hardrick sank a pair of free throws to stretch the lead past the 20-point plateau.
Drury's lead swelled to 58-34 on a Aladji Gassama free throw with just over a minute to play.
The second half featured more of the same from the Panthers, who scored the first eight points after the break to claim a 28-point cushion. Drury's lead never dipped below 23 from that point, as the Panther reserves outscored Ecclesia's bench 23-3 in the second half and 43-7 for the contest.
Nine different players scored in the second half for Drury, with Nichols pacing the attack with eight points -- six of which came as the result of three dunks. The Panthers closed the contest on a 32-16 run and cooled down to 58.1 percent (18-of-31) shooting from the field in the second half.
Drury enjoyed a sizable advantage on the blocks, finishing with a 60-32 scoring advantage in points in the paint, as well as a 40-27 edge in rebounding.
Three Royals -- Christian Ford, Adrian Nelson and Amarion Hoggan - shared high-scoring honors with 14 points apiece for the visitors.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury will continue its four-game home stand Saturday (Nov. 22) with a 5 p.m. contest against Ozark Christian College. The Panthers will then host the DoubleTree by Hilton Thanksgiving Classic next week, beginning with a 7:45 p.m. contest against Concordia-St. Paul Tuesday (Nov. 25) at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
For all the latest information on Drury men's basketball, visit DruryPanthers.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Panthers on X and Instagram.
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