Drury Panthers (4-5) vs. Central Christian College of the Bible Saints (4-7)
Opponent	Central Christian College of the Bible
Date | Tip	Wednesday, Dec. 17 | 6 p.m.
Location  | Site	Springfield, Mo. | O'Reilly Family Event Center (2,850) | Drury University
Game Links	Drury Game Notes | Listen | Watch | Live Stats
Tickets	Purchase Online | $12 - adults | $8 - students | Free - 12 and under
Promotions	Cookies with Santa
Follow	X: @DruryMBB | IG: @DruryMBB

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury men's basketball returns to O'Reilly Family Event Center Wednesday (Dec. 17) to open its longest home stand of the season with a 6 p.m., non-conference contest against Central Christian College of the Bible.

The Panthers' game against Central Christian is the first of six-straight home games spanning a 25-day stretch. Drury (4-5) has dropped five consecutive contests after starting the season 4-0, including road setbacks at SBU (Dec. 1), Truman State (Dec. 4) and Quincy (Dec. 6) in its first three GLVC contests of the season.

Central Christian (4-7) enters the game looking to stop a five-game skid of its own following a Monday exhibition loss to fellow GLVC member Lincoln in Jefferson City.

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 won the only previous meeting in the series with Central Christian College -- a 93-53 win in Springfield on Dec. 16, 2024.
• The Panthers are a combined 3-0 against the current membership of the Midwest Christian College Conference, including a 90-62 win over Ozark Christian on Nov. 22.
• DU brings a 2-2 mark at home this season into Wednesday's contest.

ABOUT CENTRAL CHRISTIAN

• Central Christian enters Wednesday's contest 4-7 overall on the season and 0-2 in Midwest Christian College Conference play.
• The Saints are led by 15th year head coach Jack Defreitas, who has racked up a total of 180 victories in two separate stints at the Moberly school.
• Wednesday's game will be the Saints' second consecutive contest against a GLVC opponent -- Lincoln topped Central Christian by a 114-42 score in Jefferson City on Monday.
• Central Christian enters the week averaging 80.3 points per outing, a figure that ranks 12th among all NCCAA D-II schools this season.
• The Saints are shooting .424 as a team, led by Edris Hamilton's .543 field goal percentage; Quian Henderson paces the club in scoring, ranking 12th nationally with his 18.3 ppg average.
• In the paint, Silas Massey pulls down an average of 8.9 rebounds per contest, while Hamilton's 2.3 blocks per outing ranks as the No. 3 average in the country.
• On the defensive end, the Saints are yielding an average of 84.5 points per game.

ABOUT DRURY

• Under fifth-year head coach Chris Foster, 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. 
• DU posted its first 4-0 start in six years, with wins over Ohio Dominican, Thomas More, Ecclesia and Ozark Christian.
• As a team, the Panthers are scoring at a 75.8 ppg clip, while allowing an average of 74.6 points per outing.
• Drury is paced by an offense that features three double-figure scorers, led by sophomore guard Colin Hardrick (15.6) and junior guard Zach Howell (14.7 ppg). 
• Howell is DU's leading returning scorer, while Hardrick earned GLVC All-Freshman and All-Defensive team honors last winter after averaging 10.2 points, 6.7 boards and 2.0 steals per outing.
• Junior guard Luke Stubbs has returned from an injury that sidelined him for the majority of the 2024-25 season, making six starts and averaging 5.9 points per outing to date.
• Several talented newcomers have contributed significantly in their first four weeks as Panthers: freshman KeShaun Thomas (14.4 ppg) has been a dominant force in the paint, scoring in double-figures in seven of the Panthers' nine games, including a pair of double-doubles; fellow rookie Keion Epps is averaging 6.8 points as the Panthers' fourth-leading scorer, in addition to a GLVC-best 5.5 assist-per-game average.

GRAND LARCENY

• The Panthers have recorded a GLVC-best 95 steals as a team through the first nine contests of the season.
• Drury ranks 23rd nationally in steals per game (10.6) at the Division II level, paced by freshman Keion Epps' 2.3 average.
• Drury is on pace to post 296 steals during the regular season, which would rank as third-best single-season total on record for the Panthers.
• DU's current average of 10.6 steals per outing is its best since 2009-10, when the Panthers registered a 10.9 steal average that rates as the best on record in Drury history.
• The top single-season steal total on record for Drury came during its 2012-13 national title run, when the Panthers pilfered 355 steals in 35 contests for an average of 10.1 per game.

PANTHERS IN THE RANKINGS

• The Panthers rank among the GLVC's top clubs in a number of categories, including a league best total of 95 steals (10.6 spg).
• Drury also rates among the conference's best in offensive rebounding (13.3), blocked shots (3.4) and turnovers forced (16.7), ranking second in each category.
• Individually, Keion Epps' 5.5 assists per game is the top average in the GLVC, while his team-leading average of 2.3 steals ranks fifth in the league.
• Zach Howell ranks second in the GLVC (and 54th nationally) in three-point field goals made (26), while his 1.9 steals per contest rank eighth in the conference.
• Howell also ranks fourth in the GLVC in three-point percentage (.394).
• Colin Hardrick ranks eighth in the GLVC in total rebounds (62) and field goals made (51), while logging the third-highest minutes-per-game average in the circuit (34:05). 
• Aladji Gassama ranks third in the conference in total blocks (11) and blocks per game (1.2).

DRURY BY THE NUMBERS

• Drury has feasted on non-NCAA-II competition this season, bringing an average of 99.0 points per outing in its two games against Ecclesia and Ozark Christian into Wednesday's action.
• The Panthers have shot .510 as a club while posting a +15 rebound margin against its two non-NCAA foes.
• DU has also averaged 13.0 steals and 18.5 assists per game in those two contests.
• Individually, Zach Howell has averaged 20.0 points while shooting .563 (9-of-16) from three-point range, and Colin Hardrick (15.0) and KeShaun Thomas have chipped in with big efforts as well.
• Drury is also 2-2 at home this season, averaging 87.0 points per contest and shooting .471 at O'Reilly Family Event Center. 

LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers continue their home stand and wrap up the 2025 portion of their schedule with a 1 p.m. game Sunday (Dec. 21) against Arkansas-Fort Smith 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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