FAYETTE, Iowa – A quick start by Upper Iowa and a balanced offense that featured five double-figure scorers powered the Peacocks to a 96-76 victory over Drury men's basketball Saturday afternoon at Dorman Memorial Gymnasium.
The Peacocks knocked down their first seven field-goal attempts to build a double-digit lead and shot .556 (20-of-36) in the opening half to take control of the contest. UIU's quick start resulted in a 16-5 advantage just four minutes into the game, thanks in large part to a strong effort on the interior by the Peacocks, who scored 22 of their first 33 points of the afternoon in the paint.
Jack Miller led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting, pacing a UIU offense that was in control throughout the afternoon. The Peacocks (14-6, 9-4 GLVC) led for all but 50 seconds of the contest and shot 48-percent (36-of-75) from the floor in stopping a three-game skid.
Drury (10-11, 5-8 GLVC), which started the afternoon just 5-of-19 from the floor, chipped away at its deficit to pull to within 20-13 on a Colin Hardrick jumper at the 12:24 mark. But the home club answered with a 13-0 outburst, holding DU to 0-of-8 shooting and forcing three turnovers over the five-minute stretch that netted the Peacocks a 20-point lead. Miller, who went 6-of-6 in a 15-point first half, tallied four points during the run that saw five different Peacocks contribute to the scoring.
The Panthers responded by scoring 10 of the next 12 points to close the gap to 35-23, as Zach Howell heated up to bury a pair of three-pointers.
Once again, the home club came up with a run to maintain their double-digit advantage, this time scoring 10-straight points to extend its lead to 22. DU ended the half on an 11-5 spurt, however, closing the margin to 16 points at intermission.
Drury cut the lead down to 14 on three separate occasions in the opening minutes of the second half. Back-to-back baskets by Hardrick and Aladji Gassama pulled the Panthers to within 65-51 with 12:00 left on the clock.
But that would prove to be as close as the Panthers would get, with UIU converting 8-of-11 second-half free-throw attempts to help offset a .522 shooting effort by Drury after the break. Howell fought through foul trouble to tally 14 points in the second period to finish with a team-leading 20, while Hardrick added 13 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
Additionally, Luke Stubbs chipped in with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and Isaiah Otyaluk added 11 for the Panthers as well.
Upper Iowa, which stretched its second-half lead to as many as 25 points, finished the game with decided advantages in rebounding (48-34) and points in the paint (46-24). Tate Petersen complemented Miller's big afternoon with 17 points of his own, while Kyle Hrncir added 14 points, eight boards and seven assists.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury returns to Springfield Thursday (Feb. 5) evening to host Quincy for the first of two consecutive GLVC games at O'Reilly Family Event Center next weekend.
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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