SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury men's basketball used a 16-4 second-half scoring run to build a double-digit lead, then held off Lincoln's late comeback bid to notch an 85-79 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over the Blue Tigers Saturday afternoon at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Drury led for nearly 37 minutes of the contest, relying on balanced contributions from four double-digit scorers to earn their second GLVC win of the season. The Panthers (7-8, 2-5 GLVC) shot 26-of-59 (.441) from the floor and committed just eight turnovers, while knocking down 26-of-30 free-throw attempts for the game, including 16-of-18 in the second half to help offset a 31-point performance by Lincoln's Solomon Oraegbu.
Zach Howell led Drury with 21 points, 14 of which came in the second half, to help hold off the Blue Tigers (7-9, 1-7 GLVC), who whittled what was once a 12-point DU lead down to a one-possession game on six different occasions in the final five minutes of play. Luke Stubbs, who matched a career high with 15 points, delivered several key baskets down the stretch and went 6-for-6 from the foul line, while Howell knocked down a pair of key triples and went 4-for-4 at the stripe after intermission to power the Panthers' attack.
Colin Hardrick came up big for Drury as well, scoring 20 points while pulling down eight rebounds and registering three assists, three steals and a pair of blocked shots. KeShaun Thomas delivered his fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Drury used strong starts from Hardrick and Thomas to build a nine-point first-half lead, as the duo combined for 26 points in the opening half. Hardrick knocked down 7-of-10 first-half field-goal attempts, while Thomas made the Blue Tigers pay at the foul line by hitting 7-of-8 free-throw tries. Thomas nearly registered a first-half double-double, complimenting his 12 early points with nine rebounds to help the Panthers control the glass to the tune of a 20-13 rebounding edge.
The Panthers seized control with a 15-5 scoring spurt midway through the opening half, as Isaiah Otyaluk drained a pair of three-pointers and Hardrick converted a pair of buckets to help DU build a 31-22 advantage.
After the Blue Tigers scored five straight to trim the margin to four points, Hardrick and Thomas combined for 12 of DU's 14 points to stretch the lead back to nine at 45-36.
But Lincoln responded with eight straight points in just over a minute spanning the closing seconds of the first half and the first 1:05 of the second, closing the gap to one point on Oraegbu's three-pointer.
Drury answered with its critical run over a six-and-a-half minute stretch to build its largest lead of the day at 63-51 with just over 10 mintues to play. Howell started the spurt with a three-pointer and added two more baskets to help spark the outburst. Otyaluk scored in the paint, and Hardrick's layup with 10:18 left on the clock capped the run.
Lincoln came back with five straight points from Oraegbu, followed by a D'Necco Rucker layup to slice the DU advantage to 63-58. Buckets by Stubbs and Thomas gave the Panthers some breathing room, with the margin fluctuating between five and nine points over the ensuing four minutes until a Malcolm Davis three-pointer with 4:21 to play made it a 67-65 game.
Howell drained a three-pointer to push it back to a five-point spread, before Stubbs converted a pair of free throws to counter another Oraegbu basket with just under three minutes to play.
Lincoln closed the gap to 79-77 on Oraegbu's 12th and final field goal of the day with 30 seconds left on the clock, but Stubbs sank two more free throws and both Hardrick and Thomas knocked down a pair of their own from the line to seal the outcome. In all, the Panthers hit 13-of-14 free-throw attempts over the final 2:27 to ice the victory, with Howell and Stubbs each going 4-for-4 at the stripe during that span.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury will travel to St. Louis Thursday (Jan. 15) to open a two-game GLVC road swing with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Maryville.
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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