BOLIVAR, Mo. – Drury men's basketball battled back from a double-digit deficit, but a 19-1 Southwest Baptist scoring run propelled the Bearcats to a 76-59 victory over the Panthers in their Great Lakes Valley Conference opener Monday evening at Meyer Wellness Center.
Drury (4-3, 0-1 GLVC) overcame a 14-point first-half deficit, scoring the first 10 points of the second stanza to claim the first of several one-point leads. Colin Hardrick powered the strong start to DU's second-half surge, tallying nine of his 15 points after intermission, including a bucket with 15:34 to play that handed the Panthers a 39-38 lead.
But SBU (4-3, 1-1 GLVC) turned to its defense for a lift, holding the Panthers without a field goal for four and a half minutes, while knocking down 8-of-11 field goal attempts to turn a one-point lead into a 72-53 bulge. Brandon Moore and Zac Reedus combined for 15 of the home club's 19 points over the game's key stretch.
SBU shot .538 (28-of-52) for the night, including 10-of-23 (.435) from three-point range, while forcing a season-high 19 Drury turnovers. Moore led the Bearcats with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while Reedus finished with 19.
Zach Howell led the Panthers with 16 points, while Hardrick finished with 15 to go along with a game-high four assists for Drury.
SBU used a red-hot first-half shooting performance and 13 points from Barron Silsby to a nine-point lead at the break. The Bearcats connected on 15-of-25 (.600) attempts from the floor to lead by as many as 14 points.
The Bearcats wasted little time in heating up on a chilly night, knocking down five of their first six attempts from the floor to establish an early lead. Barron Silsby tallied 11 points over the first 11 minutes, fueling a 6-of-9 start from beyond the arc by SBU, which stretched its lead to as many as 14 points.
After a slow start that saw the Panthers convert just 5-of-17 shots from the floor to begin the contest, Drury caught fire midway through the first half as well. Howell connected from long range to kick off a 9-0 DU spurt that trimmed the SBU lead to 28-23. Hardrick and Ethan Whatley followed suit to give the Panthers three-straight makes from three-point range.
Howell led Drury with five of his eight first-half points during a Panthers run that would expand to 15-4, with KeShaun Thomas's dunk at the 3:07 mark pulling DU to within 32-29.
But the Bearcats would respond, using six unanswered points to close out the half to take a nine-point advantage into the break.
Drury turned the tables on SBU with a 10-0 run to open the second half, as the Panther defense kept the Bearcats off the scoreboard for the first 4:47 of the period. In all, DU forced five turnovers and held SBU without a field goal for nearly seven minutes.
Hardrick accounted for five straight DU points, including his layup at the 15:34 mark that handed the Panthers their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.
But it would be all SBU down the stretch, as the Bearcats stopped a three-game skid in the series versus Drury with the victory.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury continues its three-game road swing Thursday (Dec. 4) with a 7:30 p.m. GLVC matchup against Truman State at Pershing Arena in Kirksville.
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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