SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury men's basketball continues a four-game home stand Saturday (Nov. 22) with a 5 p.m., non-conference contest against Ozark Christian College at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
The Panthers (3-0) will be looking to make it four-straight victories to start the 2025-26 season after knocking off Ecclesia College 108-68 on Wednesday. Drury is 3-0 for the second time under head coach Chris Foster, but has not won four games in a row to start a season since 2019-20, when it won its first seven games.
Drury has gone 15-3 against non-conference foes since the start of the 2023-24 season, while racking up 22 home victories and a .710 winning percentage at The O' over the same span.
Ozark Christian (1-4) is coming off a 19-point setback at Spurgeon College last Saturday on the heels of its first victory of the season -- a 93-78 win over Union Adventist on Nov. 11.
Fans may follow the action through the GLVC Sports Network (subscription required), where games will be streamed live throughout the regular season. New for the 2025-26 academic year, viewing access to live broadcasts from GLVC regular season and postseason contests will be available via monthly subscription ($30) or annual subscription ($140). Single-event access can also be purchased for $15.
Audio broadcasts for all Drury men's basketball games in 2025-26 will be streamed online through the DU All-Access button via DruryPanthers.com. Fans may access the audio streams by visiting the 2025-26 schedule page for the Panthers and selecting the "Listen" link, or via the DU All Access button located on the home page.
SERIES HISTORY
- Drury claimed the only previous meeting in the series with OCC two seasons ago, topping the Ambassadors by a 106-58 score on Nov. 14, 2023 in Springfield.
- Five different Panthers scored in double figures in that victory, led by Luke Stubbs' 13-point effort.
- DU shot .588 from the floor and 13-of-26 from three-point range, while outscoring OCC by a 50-30 margin in the paint.
OPENING STORYLINES
- Drury started 2-0 with wins over Ohio Dominican (Nov. 14) and Thomas More (Nov. 15) at last weekend's season-opening GLVC/G-MAC Conference Challenge in Elsah, Ill.
- The Panthers' 2-0 start was their third in the last four seasons and 18th during DU's Division II era dating back to 1994.
- The Panthers have enjoyed balanced contributions from up and down their roster in the first three games of the season, including 12 different double-digit scoring performances.
- Additionally, seven different newcomers have combined to score at total 124 points -- or 49.8 percent of the Panthers' offense -- in the three games, led by freshman KeShaun Thomas's 14.7 ppg average.
- Drury also extended its string of opening-night dominance with its comeback win over Ohio Dominican last Friday, giving the Panthers' five consecutive wins in season openers under Foster, as well as a 21-2 mark in openers dating back to the 2003-04 season.
- DU has started 4-0 a total of nine times as a Division II program (since 1994); most recently, the Panthers won their first seven games of the 2019-20 season.
- Since becoming a full member at the Division II level in 1994, Drury has compiled a 112-52 record in the month of November.
- The Panthers won four of their last six games in 2024-25, including an 89-77 victory over GLVC regular-season champion Missouri S&T in their final regular-season contest, giving them seven wins in their last nine contests.
- Drury welcomes back six total letterwinners from last season, including leading returning scorer Zach Howell, who averaged 13.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per outing in his first year as a Panther.
ABOUT OZARK CHRISTIAN
- Ozark Christian is a member of the National Christian College Athletics Association based in Joplin, Mo.
- The Ambassadors went 21-10 last season and 12-2 in the Midwest Christian College Conference.
- Led by head coach Chris Lahm, the Ambassadors enter Saturday's contest 1-4 on the season.
- OCC is led by Carter Brown's 13.6 ppg and 7.6 rpg averages; Brown is shooting .470 from the field, including 50-percent from beyond the three-point arc.
- Eric Dillinger (10.6 ppg) and Blaine Salsman (10.2) are also averaging in double figures for the Ambassadors.
- OCC has given up an average of 94.6 points per contest to date, with the Ambassadors' lone win coming at Union Adventist on Nov. 11.
ABOUT DRURY
- Drury is coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2019-21 after going 14-13 a year ago and 15-13 in 2023-24.
- Now in his fifth season as head coach of the Panthers, Chris Foster brings a 51-61 record as DU's bench boss into Saturday's contest.
- The Ironton, Mo., native has compiled a 168-141 overall record in his 12 seasons as a collegiate head coach -- all at the NCAA Division II level within the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
- The Panthers won four of their last six games in 2024-25, including an 89-77 victory over GLVC regular-season champion Missouri S&T in their final regular-season contest, giving them seven wins in their last nine contests.
- Drury welcomes back six total letterwinners from last season, including leading returning scorer Zach Howell, who hit the ground running in week one of the new season, pouring home all 17 of his points in the first half of game two vs. Thomas More on Saturday to stake the Panthers to the early lead; he finished the day with eight boards, a career-high five assists and three steals in the 71-59 DU victory.
- The Panthers' lineup will also be bolstered by the return of sophomore guard Colin Hardrick, who earned GLVC All-Freshman and All-Defensive team honors last winter after posting 10.2 points per game, as well as team-leading averages of 6.7 boards and 2.0 steals, the latter of which led the conference.
- Drury also benefits from the return of junior guard Luke Stubbs, who missed all but three games a year ago due to injury, as well as senior forward Aladji Gassama and senior guard Ethan Whatley; redshirt junior guard Kanon Gipson returns as well, but sustained what is believed to be a season-ending injury during the preseason.
- Drury men's basketball will welcome eight new student-athletes as part of the Panthers' 2025 signing class, which includes three transfers and five prep standouts.
- Joining the Panthers for the 2025-26 season will be 6-9 junior forward/center Gezim Bajrami (Tampere, Finland), 6-3 junior guard Avante Nichols (Atlanta, Ga.), 6-7 redshirt freshman Isaiah Otyaluk (Cary, N.C.), 6-5 freshman guard Wyatt Carr (Lebanon, Mo.), 6-0 freshman guard Keion Epps (Springfield, Mo.), 6-0 freshman guard Brenley Hagewood (Republic, Mo.), 6-5 freshman forward Kevin Sargeant (Missouri City, Texas) and 6-6 freshman forward KeShaun Thomas (Quincy, Ill.).
PANTHERS JOIN CENTURY CLUB
- Drury topped the century mark in scoring with Wednesday's 108-68 win over Ecclesia, marking the first time the Panthers have done so since a 106-point effort vs. University of the Ozarks on Dec. 5, 2023.
- DU's 108 points marked its best offensive output since a 118-74 win over Missouri S&T on Jan. 13, 2018.
- Wednesday's win also marked the third 100+ point total for the Panthers under Foster.
ROLLING IN NOVEMBER
- The Panthers improved to 3-0 with Wednesday's win over Ecclesia; DU's last 3-0 start came in 2023-24, when they edged Thomas More, Trevecca Nazarene and Ozark Christian to start the season en route to a 15-13 campaign.
- DU has started 4-0 a total of nine times as a Division II program (since 1994).
- Most recently, the Panthers won their first seven games of the 2019-20 season.
- DU's 3-0 start has continued a recent string of success in the season's first month, with the Panthers going a combined 12-3 in November since the start of the 2023-24 season.
- Since becoming a full member at the Division II level in 1994, Drury has compiled a 112-52 record in the month of November.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers will 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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