Drury Panthers (6-8, 1-5 GLVC) vs. Lincoln Blue Tigers (7-8, 1-6 GLVC)
Opponent	Lincoln
Date | Tip	Saturday, Jan. 10 | 3 p.m.
Location  | Site	Springfield, Mo. | O'Reilly Family Event Center (2,850) | Drury University
Game Links	Drury Game Notes | Lincoln Preview | Listen | Watch | Live Stats
Tickets	Purchase Online | $12 - adults | $8 - students | Free - 12 and under
Promotion	Hall of Fame Day
Follow	X: @DruryMBB | IG: @DruryMBB

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury men's basketball wraps up a six-game home stand Saturday (Jan. 10) with a 3 p.m., Great Lakes Valley Conference contest against Lincoln at O'Reilly Family Event Center. Drury will honor six standout athletes and coaches as part of its annual Hall of Fame Day.

The Panthers (6-8, 1-5 GLVC) will be looking to bounce back from an 81-79 home loss to No. 16 Missouri S&T (Jan. 8) in a game that featured 12 lead changes and a 20-point performance by redshirt freshman Isaiah Otyaluk off the bench.

Lincoln (7-8, 1-6 GLVC) enters the game seeking to stop a six-game GLVC losing streak and a four-game slide overall, following an overtime loss at Southwest Baptist on Thursday.

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

• Drury holds a 15-7 all-time series edge over the Blue Tigers entering play Thursday.
• Lincoln claimed the only previous meeting of the two clubs as GLVC members with its 65-63 victory in Jefferson City last January.
• DU last defeated Lincoln on Nov. 25, 2017, with a 100-90 decision in the two teams' only previous matchup at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
• The Panthers are 0-1 against Lincoln under head coach Chris Foster.

ABOUT LINCOLN

• The Blue Tigers bring a 7-8 overall mark into Saturday's game after dropping their last four contests; Lincoln's skid has also included losses in each of its last six GLVC games (since Dec. 1).
• Lincoln, the 2025 GLVC Tournament champion, was the No. 2 pick of the league's coaches in this year's conference preseason polling.
• Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Jimmy Drew, the Blue Tigers are averaging 74.9 points per outing, led by Solomon Oraegbu's 19.8 ppg average.
• Lincoln's lineup features two additional players averaging double figures entering the week in returning All-GLVC performer Tyler Chapman (12.7 ppg) and Enari Thomas (12.9).
• Defensively, the Blue Tigers are allowing 67.5 points per contest, while limiting the opposition to .311 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
• Max Ekono ranks fourth among all GLVC rebounders with his team-leading average of 8.3 boards per game.

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 82.6 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 (16.3 ppg) and sophomore guard Colin Hardrick (14.6). 
• 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 11 starts and averaging 7.8 points per outing to date.
• Several talented newcomers have contributed significantly in their first eight weeks as Panthers: freshman KeShaun Thomas (15.8 ppg) has been a dominant force in the paint, scoring in double-figures in 11 of the Panthers' 14 games, including a trio of double-doubles; fellow rookie Keion Epps is averaging 8.2 points, in addition to his GLVC-best 5.5 assist-per-game average; redshirt freshman Isaiah Otyaluk has provided a lift in his first season at Drury as well, including a pair of 20-point performances.

WELCOME TO THE HALL

• The 30th Annual Drury University Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place prior to Saturday's game.
• This year's class includes six legendary DU figures who will be enshrined as members of the Class of 2025, including Bailee (Nunn) Berger (women's swimming, 2016-20), Daejah Bernard (women's basketball, 2016-20), Brooke (Antenen) Byl (volleyball, 2012-16), Caleb Cole (baseball, 2011-14), Hailey Diestelkamp (women's basketball, 2016-20) and Jarrod Smith (head tennis coach, 2006-23).
• The induction ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday morning at Judy Thompson Executive Conference Center, located inside O'Reilly Enterprise Center on the DU campus; the class will also be honored in between the Drury women's and men's games at O'Reilly Family Event Center.

PANTHERS IN THE RANKINGS

• The Panthers ranked among the GLVC's top clubs in a number of categories entering the week, including the second-best steal (9.1), assist (15.6) and blocked shot (3.9 bpg) averages in the conference.
• Drury also rates among the conference's best teams in turnovers forced per contest (15.0), ranking second entering play Saturday.
• DU ranks third in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (12.6) and scoring offense (82.6 ppg).
• The Panthers lead the GLVC and rank 20th nationally in home attendance with their average of 875 fans per game over their first nine home contests at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
• Individually, Keion Epps' 5.5 assists per game is the top individual average in the GLVC, while his team-leading average of 1.7 steals ranks eighth in the league.
• Zach Howell leads the GLVC in three-point field goal percentage (.480) and ranks second in three-point field goals made (47) entering the weekend, while his 1.6 steals per contest average rank 11th in the conference.
• KeShaun Thomas ranks sixth in the GLVC in free throws made (66).
• Colin Hardrick ranks eighth in the GLVC in total rebounds (96).
• Aladji Gassama ranks eighth in the conference in blocks per game (1.0).

NO PLACE LIKE HO'ME

• Drury has feasted at home this season, averaging 91.4 points per game at O'Reilly Family Event Center
• The Panthers are 4-5 at home this season, with an average margin of victory of +11.3 points per game, including three 100+ point performances.
• DU has knocked down 91 three-point field goals — an average of 10.1 per home game at O'Reilly this season.
• Individually, Zach Howell has averaged 17.8 points while shooting .610 (36-of-59) from three-point range at home.
• Four additional Panthers are averaging double figures at home: KeShaun Thomas (16.2), Colin Hardrick (13.7), Isaiah Otyaluk (11.9) and Keion Epps (10.6).
• The Panthers are forcing an average of 14.4 turnovers and handing out 17.6 assists per contest at O'Reilly this season.
• Drury is once again enjoying the advantage of playing its home games in front of one of the most loyal fan bases in the country, as the Panthers currently lead the GLVC in both total (7,056) and average (882 per game) home attendance in 2025-26.
• The Panthers have led the GLVC in total attendance every year since 2021-22, ranking as high as 11th nationally in total attendance (2021-22).
• Last year, DU welcomed 16,017 fans through the doors of O'Reilly, which was the 13th-best season total among all Division II men's programs.

ROOKIE HONOR ROLL

• Freshman forward KeShaun Thomas was named the Athletic Solutions GLVC Player of the Week on Monday.
• Thomas delivered a pair of 20-point performances, pacing the Panthers with team-leading averages of 24.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.
• The Quincy, Ill., product tallied a career-high 29 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor and 9-of-9 at the foul line in DU's 104-98 win over Rockhurst last Friday.
• For the week, Thomas shot just under 70-percent from the floor, connecting on 16-of-23 field goal attempts, as well as 15-of-19 (.789) free-throw tries.
• Thomas's citation marked the first GLVC weekly honor for a Drury freshman since Drake Patterson won the same award on Feb. 6, 2012.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers will embark on a two-game road swing next weekend, beginning with a 7:30 p.m., Thursday (Jan. 15) contest at Maryville in St. Louis.

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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