SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Despite another strong all-around offensive performance, Drury men's basketball fell to No. 20 Arkansas-Fort Smith in a back-and-forth contest that saw the visiting Lions convert 33-of-36 (.917) free-throw attempts to pull out a 94-86 win over the Panthers Sunday afternoon at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Drury (5-6) shot .516 (16-of-31) from the floor in the second half and played the unbeaten Lions to a 77-77 tie through 36 minutes, before UAFS (11-0) used a 9-0 scoring run and an 8-for-8 effort at the foul line over the final four minutes to seal the outcome.
KeShaun Thomas, who led the Panthers with a game-high 20 points, knocked down a pair of free throws to pull Drury even for the game's 15th -- and final -- tie at 77-all with 4:04 to play. But UAFS's Christian Moore and VJ Reeves answered with buckets in the paint for the Lions to spark the contest's decisive stretch. The same duo of Moore and Reeves would combine for all nine of the Lions' points over the critical two-minute run. Moore put the finishing touches on the rally with a three-pointer at the 1:47 mark that handed the Lions an 86-77 advantage -- the largest lead of the day for UAFS..
The Panthers would get no closer than six points the rest of the way, as UAFS converted its final 22 free-throw attempts of the game, including all eight tries in the final minute of play.
Jarren McAllister led the Lions with 19 points and 10 rebounds, thanks to a 7-of-8 effort at the line, while Brandon Scott added 18 and Kameron Johnson went 8-for-8 at the charity stripe to tally 12 points.
Drury used a 17-4 scoring run to build a nine-point first-half lead, keyed by a trio of early three-pointers by Isaiah Otyaluk. Fresh off of his record-setting shooting performance in Wednesday night's 137-62 win over Central Christian, Zach Howell buried two triples to help fuel the early DU run that put the Panthers in front 22-13 with just under 10 minutes left in the half. The Drury defense contributed as well, holding the Lions scoreless for nearly three minutes.
But the Lions bounced back with an 18-5 scoring spurt over a six-minute span to seize the lead. UAFS tightened the defensive screws on the Panthers, limiting DU to 2-of-13 shooting over the same stretch to ultimate forge a 35-30 advantage with 2:16 left to play.
The Panthers recovered to tally six of the final eight points of the period, slicing their deficit to 37-36 at intermission. Thomas scored in the paint at the two-minute mark, before Colin Hardrick knocked down a pull-up jumper and Luke Stubbs converted a layup with just four seconds left.
Drury maintained its momentum in the early stages of the second stanza, scoring four of the first six points to grab 40-39 lead. The two clubs would trade blows throughout the first half of the period, combining for seven ties and seven lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the half. C.J. Ford converted five-straight free throws for the Lions to give the visitors a 65-61 lead -- the largest for either club to that point in the second half.
Thomas cashed in on back-to-back possessions, and Hardrick sank two free throws to pull the Panthers even at 67-67. The two offenses would trade the lead three times over the ensuing three minutes, before a 4-0 Lions run gave UAFS a 77-74 advantage. The Panthers answered at the free-throw line, as Stubbs hit 1-of-2 tries, before Thomas converted two attempts to even the score at 77.
Despite going 4-of-8 from the floor down the stretch, the Panthers could not overcome the late shooting heroics by the Lions, who maintained their perfect record on the season by outscoring DU 17-7 over the final 3:41.
Drury outshot the Lions .448 (30-of-67) to .418 (28-67) for the afternoon and connected on 20-of-24 (.833) at the free-throw line. But UAFS turned 16 offensive rebounds into a 20-7 scoring edge in second-chance points, in addition to a 44-33 overall rebounding margin.
Hardrick logged a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Howell and Otyaluk finished with 13 points apiece, and Keion Epps totaled 12 points for the Panthers.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following an 11-day break for the holidays, the Panthers will return to action Jan. 2 when they host Rockhurst for a 7:45 p.m. Great Lakes Valley Conference contest 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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