Drury Panthers (6-6, 1-3 GLVC) vs. William Jewell Cardinals (5-7, 1-3 GLVC)
Opponent	William Jewell
Date | Tip	Sunday, Jan. 4 | 3 p.m.
Location  | Site	Springfield, Mo. | O'Reilly Family Event Center (2,850) | Drury University
Game Links	Drury Game Notes | William Jewell Game Notes | Listen | Watch | Live Stats
Tickets	Purchase Online | $12 - adults | $8 - students | Free - 12 and under
Promotions	Drury Basketball Camper Appreciation Day
Follow	X: @DruryMBB | IG: @DruryMBB

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury men's basketball continues its longest home stand of the season Sunday (Jan. 4) afternoon with a 3 p.m., Great Lakes Valley Conference contest against William Jewell at O'Reilly Family Event Center.

Drury (6-6, 1-3 GLVC) notched its first GLVC victory of the season Friday evening with a 104-98 win over Rockhurst at O'Reilly. DU rode KeShaun Thomas's career-best 29 points to its third 100-point scoring performance of the season. The Panthers knocked down 33-of-40 (.825) free-throw attempts, and Zach Howell complimented Thomas's effort with 28 points, 22 of which came in the second half. 

William Jewell (5-7, 1-3 GLVC) is coming off a 72-69 road setback to No. 17 Missouri S&T on Friday, but has claimed each of the last three meetings in its series with Drury.

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 bring a 41-39 series edge over the Cardinals into Sunday's contest.
• William Jewell has claimed the last three matchups in the series, including a 91-80 win over the Panthers in their most recent meeting on Feb. 15, 2025 in Springfield; the Cardinals also took a 78-72 decision from DU in Liberty on Jan. 3 of last year, giving them their first GLVC season sweep of the Panthers.
• Drury is 10-2 against Jewell inside O'Reilly Family Event Center, and head coach Chris Foster is 11-4 overall against the Cardinals during his 12-year career.

ABOUT WILLIAM JEWELL

• The Cardinals enter Sunday's game 5-7 overall and 1-3 in GLVC play, paced by an offense that averages 68.4 points per game and a defense that is allowing 69.2 points per outing.
• Seventh-year head coach Chris McCabe's lineup features four players averaging double figures, paced by Justice Sutton's 17.6 ppg. average.
• Bradley Lightbourne brings a 15.3 ppg average into Sunday's game, while Kanukayi Gudza leads the Cardinals with his 3.5 assists per game.
• As a team, the Cardinals are shooting .429 from the field and .322 from beyond the arc.
• William Jewell ranks third overall in the GLVC in steals per game (8.8), led by Lightbourne's 2.5 spg. average.
  

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 84.1 ppg clip, while allowing an average of 77.1 points per outing.
• Drury is paced by an offense that features three double-figure scorers, led by junior guard Zach Howell (17.2 ppg) and sophomore guard Colin Hardrick (14.8). 
• 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 seven starts and averaging 6.7 points per outing to date.
• Several talented newcomers have contributed significantly in their first three weeks as Panthers: freshman KeShaun Thomas (16.1 ppg) has been a dominant force in the paint, scoring in double-figures in 10 of the Panthers' 12 games, including a trio of double-doubles; fellow rookie Keion Epps is averaging 8.6 points as the Panthers' fourth-leading scorer, in addition to his 5.4 assist-per-game average that ranks second in the GLVC.

GRAND LARCENY

• The Panthers have recorded a GLVC-best average of 9.9 steals as per game through the first 12 contests of the season.
• Entering play Friday, Drury ranked 23rd nationally in steals per game at the Division II level, paced by Keion Epps' 1.9 average.
• Drury is on pace to post 278 steals during the regular season, which would rank as fourth-best single-season total on record at DU.
• DU's current average of 9.9 steals per outing is its best since 2012-13, when the Panthers registered a 10.1 steal average, as well as a school record of 355 steals in 35 contests during its national championship run.

PANTHERS IN THE CENTURY CLUB

• Drury topped the century mark for the third time this season with Friday's 104-point performance in its win over Rockhurst.
• The Panthers' three 100-point totals this season mark their best total since 2017-18, when DU topped the century plateau a total of six times.
• The Panthers achieved the feat in a 108-68 win over Ecclesia on Nov. 19; that performance marked the first time DU reached the 100-point plateau since a 106-point effort vs.  University of the Ozarks on Dec. 5, 2023.
• Drury also reached the 100-point mark with its best single-game scoring total ever in a 137-62 win against Central Christian College (Dec. 17).

DRURY BY THE NUMBERS

• Drury has feasted at home this season, averaging 96.4 points per game at O'Reilly Family Event Center
• The Panthers are 4-3 at home this season, with an average margin of victory of +15.4 points per game, including three 100+ point performances.
• DU has knocked down 74 three-point field goals -- an average of 10.6 per home game at O'Reilly this season.
• Individually, Zach Howell has averaged 19.7 points while shooting .627 (32-of-51) from three-point range at home.
• Four additional Panthers are averaging double figures at home: KeShaun Thomas (16.9), Colin Hardrick (13.9), Keion Epps (12.2) and Isaiah Otyaluk (11.2).
• The Panthers are forcing an average of 15.6 turnovers and handing out 18.0 assists per contest at O'Reilly this season.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers will host No. 17 Missouri S&T in a 7:45 p.m. GLVC contest Thursday (Jan. 8) 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.

OneDrury