ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Drury men's basketball rode an early 12-0 scoring run and its best shooting effort in Great Lakes Valley Conference play this season to an 82-68 road victory over Maryville Thursday evening at Moloney Arena.
Three Drury freshmen -- Isaiah Otyaluk, Keion Epps and KeShaun Thomas -- combined for 49 points as the Panthers shot .516 from the field to register their second-consecutive conference victory.
DU's team field goal percentage narrowly edged a 50.8-percent night against Rockhurst (Jan. 2) for its top mark of the season and marked the Panthers' best shooting performance in GLVC play since a .526 effort in an 89-77 win over No. 8 Missouri S&T on March 1, 2025.
Otyaluk matched a career high with 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including seven points during DU's string of 12-straight points that turned an early four-point deficit into a 20-12 advantage. After the Saints (2-15, 0-9 GLVC) scored nine of the next 13 points to draw to within three points, the Panthers kicked their offense back into high gear to extend their lead to double digits. The duo of Otyaluk and Thomas combined for 26 first-half points, as Drury took a 39-30 lead into intermission.
Drury (8-8, 3-5 GLVC) maintained that momentum in the opening minutes of the second stanza, using four quick points to build a 13-point cushion, before the Saints responded with a 10-2 run to close to within 45-40 with 16:29 left to play.
That's when the Panthers came to life once more, this time with a 14-3 spurt courtesy of three straight long-distance bombs by Zach Howell in a span of just 67 seconds. Colin Hardrick added a bucket in the paint, and Howell hit from distance again to stretch the lead to 59-43 with 14:05 to go.
Otyaluk's dunk with 10:32 left on the clock stretched the margin to 20 points. The DU redshirt freshman corralled an offensive rebound and threw down another dunk -- his fourth of the night -- five minutes later to give the Panthers a 78-57 advantage for their largest of the game.
Maryville would get no closer than the 14-point final margin. Drury put the game on ice by shooting a red-hot . 567 (17-of-30) in the second half, led by Howell's 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
The rookie trio of Epps, Otyaluk and Thomas combined to go 20-of-34 (.588) from the floor, with Thomas adding his sixth 20-point effort of the season. Epps recorded his first double-double as a Panther with career highs of 10 assists and 11 rebounds. The freshman's assist total marked the first double-digit performance by a Panther since Conley Garrison produced 10 assists against Pittsburg State on Dec. 22, 2019.
Additionally, Howell tallied 18 points to go along with his five boards, four assists and two steals.
As a team, the Panthers dominated the interior, finishing with a 48-18 scoring advantage in the paint. The DU reserves also gave the Panthers a lift with 29-2 final margin in bench scoring.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury wraps up its road trip with a 3 p.m., GLVC contest Saturday (Jan. 17) against McKendree at Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Ill.
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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