Drury Panthers (5-5) vs. No. 20 Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions (10-0)
Opponent	Arkansas-Fort Smith
Date | Tip	Sunday, Dec. 21 | 1 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
Follow	X: @DruryMBB | IG: @DruryMBB

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury men's basketball will look to make it two in a row heading into the holiday break, as the Panthers host No. 20 Arkansas-Fort Smith Sunday for a 1 p.m. non-conference matchup at O'Reilly Family Event Center.

The Panthers turned in a record-breaking performance to kick off their current six-game home stand with a 137-62 victory over Central Christian College Wednesday evening. Drury (5-5) set program single-game records for points, three-point field goals (21) and scoring margin (+75), while Zach Howell shattered the DU individual record with his 11 three-point field goals in the victory.

UAFS (10-0) enters the game with 10-straight victories to open the 2025-26 season, including a pair of wins this week at the River City Holiday Classic in San Antonio.

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

• The Panthers and Lions will be facing off for just the second time on Sunday.
• Drury is 0-1 this season against ranked foes (Nov. 25 vs. No. 21 Concordia-St. Paul).
• UAFS claimed the only previous meeting in the series, an 89-76 decision over DU in Fort Smith, one year ago (Dec. 21, 2024).
• In last year's matchup, UAFS went 17-of-20 from the field in the second half to hold off Drury's comeback bid; Colin Hardrick led the Panthers with 18 points.

ABOUT ARKANSAS-FORT SMITH

• The Lions enter Sunday's game 10-0 on the season and ranked No. 20 in the nation (NABC).
• Led by third-year head coach Zane Gibson, the Lions are averaging 86.9 points per outing, while allowing just 62.2 points.
• UAFS leads the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense (.236) and ranks second in overall field goal defense (.357).
• The Lions featured one of the more potent three-point attacks in the country, ranking ninth in team three-point shooting (.414), keyed by five different regulars who are shooting better than 40-percent from beyond the arc.
• Christian Moore leads the offense with his 11.5 ppg and 4.2 assists per game averages; Brandon Scott (10.2) is the only other UAFS starter averaging in double figures, while Jack Hoth is contributing 10.9 points per outing off the bench.
• UAFS is also tough on the boards, with Kameron Johnson's 7.0 rpg average pacing a club that ranks fifth nationally in rebounding (44.9 rpg).
  

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 81.9 ppg clip, while allowing an average of 73.3 points per outing.
• Drury is paced by an offense that features three double-figure scorers, led by junior guard Zach Howell (16.5 ppg) and sophomore guard Colin Hardrick (14.6). 
• 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 5.8 points per outing to date.
• Several talented newcomers have contributed significantly in their first three weeks as Panthers: freshman KeShaun Thomas (14.4 ppg) has been a dominant force in the paint, scoring in double-figures in eight of the Panthers' 10 games, including a trio of double-doubles; fellow rookie Keion Epps is averaging 8.1 points as the Panthers' fourth-leading scorer, in addition to a GLVC-best 6.0 assist-per-game average.
  

GRAND LARCENY

• The Panthers have recorded a GLVC-best 107 steals as a team through the first 10 contests of the season.
• Drury ranks 18th nationally in steals per game (10.7) at the Division II level, paced by freshman Keion Epps' 2.3 average.
• Drury is on pace to post 300 steals during the regular season, which would rank as third-best single-season total on record at DU.
• DU's current average of 10.7 steals per outing is its best since 2009-10, when the Panthers registered a 10.9 steal average that rates as the top average 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.

PUTTING THE 'O' IN 'THE O'

• Drury's 137-62 win over Central Christian at O'Reilly Family Event Center Wednesday night included several record-breaking (or matching) performances:
  • Drury single-game scoring (137 points)
  • Drury single-game three-point field goals (21)
  • Zach Howell: DU single-game three-point field goals (11)
  • Tied Drury single-game scoring margin (+75)
• Drury's 137 points eclipsed the program's previous single-game standard of 129, established in a 129-89 victory over Lincoln on Feb. 20, 2002.
• Howell surpassed the Panthers' single-game record for three-point field goals with 11 makes from beyond the arc en route to a career-high 33 points, surpassing former DU teammate Logan Applegate's 10 successful treys at SBU (Feb. 22, 2025).
• Additionally, the Panthers came within one field goal of matching their program record for shots made (52) in a game.
• Including Howell's career night, a total of five Panthers turned in career-best scoring performances, including Isaiah Otyaluk (25), Aladji Gassama (16), Kevin Sargeant (13) and Brady Nicholson (5) in the victory over Central Christian.

DRURY BY THE NUMBERS

• Drury has feasted at home this season, averaging 97.0 points per game at O'Reilly Family Event Center
• The Panthers are 3-2 at home this season, with an average margin of victory of +22 points per game. 
• DU has shot .410 from three-point range at O'Reilly this season.
• Individually, Zach Howell has averaged 19.4 points while shooting .667 (26-of-39) from three-point range at home.
• Four additional Panthers are averaging double figures at home: KeShaun Thomas (13.8), Keion Epps (13.7), Isaiah Otyaluk (13.5) and Colin Hardrick (13.0).
• The Panthers are forcing an average of 17.6 turnovers and handing out 19.8 assists per contest at O'Reilly this season.
  

LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers will open the 2026 portion of their schedule with the first of four straight GLVC home contests when they host Rockhurst for a 7:45 p.m., contest on Jan. 2 at O'Reilly.

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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