SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury men's basketball will complete its weekend stay in Kansas City Saturday (Feb. 14) with a 2 p.m., Great Lakes Valley Conference matchup with league-leading Rockhurst at Mason-Halpin Field House.
Drury (12-12, 7-9 GLVC) will look to bounce back from a hard-fought setback at William Jewell, a game in which the Panthers nearly wiped out an 18-point second-half deficit before falling, 80-69.
Rockhurst (18-5, 12-3 GLVC) enters the contest sitting alone atop the GLVC regular-season standings following a road victory over SBU on Thursday. The Hawks have won 10 of 11 games since dropping a 104-98 shootout to the Panthers on Jan. 2 in Springfield and are a perfect 7-0 at home in GLVC play.
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 hold a 77-49 all-time series edge against Rockhurst.
- Drury holds a 29-10 advantage in the series since joining the GLVC in 2005-06.
- DU claimed a 104-98 win over the Hawks in its first meeting of the season with Rockhurst on Jan. 2.
- DU is 4-4 against Rockhurst under head coach Chris Foster, who is 12-7 overall vs. the Hawks in his 12 years as a collegiate head coach.
ABOUT ROCKHURST
- The Hawks enter Saturday's game with the GLVC's top scoring offense (88.8 ppg) and an 18-5 overall mark this season (12-3 in GLVC play).
- Led by second-year head coach Kyle Blackbourn, the Hawks have won six straight GLVC contests following Thursday's 75-59 road win over SBU in Bolivar.
- Rockhurst is the No. 3 rebounding (37.1 rpg) club in the GLVC, while their 464 free throws on the season leads the circuit by 91 over Drury's 373, which is the No. 2 total in the league; the Hawks average of 20.5 free throws per game is the No. 2 figure in the nation.
- The Hawks' offense is fueled by the 1-2 punch of Drenin Dinkins (22.7) and Jaylen Wesley (21.4 ppg), who rank first and second in the conference in scoring, respectively.
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.
- As a team, the Panthers are scoring at an 81.9 ppg clip, while allowing an average of 78.5 points per outing.
- Drury is paced by an offense that features three double-figure scorers, led by junior guard Zach Howell (17.8 ppg) and sophomore guard Colin Hardrick (15.4).
- 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 21 starts and averaging 9.3 points per outing to date.
- Several talented newcomers have contributed significantly in their first 12 weeks as Panthers: freshman KeShaun Thomas (15.0 ppg) has been a dominant force in the paint, scoring in double-figures in 20 of the Panthers' 24 games, including five double-doubles; fellow rookie Keion Epps is averaging 5.6 points, in addition to his 4.8 assist-per-game average, which ranks second in the GLVC; redshirt freshman Isaiah Otyaluk has provided a lift in his first season at Drury as well, including four 20-point performances.
LAST TIME OUT
- Despite rallying from an 18-point second-half deficit to cut the margin to just four points, Drury came out on the short end of an 80-69 GLVC decision against William Jewell Thursday evening at Mabee Center.
- Drury used a 14-0 scoring spurt to draw to within four points with just under six minutes to play, but the Cardinals answered behind the play of Justice Sutton, who finished the night with 33 points to lift Jewell to its 10th victory in its last 11 games.
- After the Panthers closed the gap to within four points for a second time on Kevin Sargeant's two free throws with 2:53 left in regulation, Sutton sank four-straight free throws to give the Cardinals some breathing room.
- Jewell converted 8-of-8 attempts at the charity stripe over the final three minutes to ice the game.
- Colin Hardrick led the Panthers with 15 points, while Sargeant matched a career high with 13 points. KeShaun Thomas notched his fifth double-double of the season.
A FINE HOW-ELL DO YOU DO
- Junior guard/forward Zach Howell's three 30+ point efforts this season are the most by a Panther in a season since Alex Hall's eight in 2012-13.
- Howell's GLVC-best .468 three-point percentage ranks as the best single-season mark by a Panther since Jason Montgomery's .477 in 2020-21.
- Howell's 81 three-pointers this season puts him on pace for 95 makes from beyond the arc during the regular season, which would rank fifth on DU's single-season list; it would also mark the most by a Panther since Conley Garrison's 105 makes in 2018-19.
- His 81 three-pointers rank ninth on DU's single-season chart, just one behind Dennon Mitchell in the No. 8 position.
- Howell ranks third in the GLVC in total scoring (428) and fifth in free-throw percentage (.862).
PANTHERS IN THE RANKINGS
- The Panthers rank among the GLVC's top clubs in a number of categories entering Saturday's game, including the No. 2 blocked shot (3.6) and assist (15.4) per game averages in the conference.
- Drury also rated among the conference's best teams in scoring (81.9), steal (8.5) and turnovers forced (13.9) per game, ranking third in those categories.
- The Panthers lead the GLVC and rank 10th nationally in total home attendance of 13,212 fans over their first 14 home contests this season at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
- Individually, Keion Epps' 4.8 assists per game ranks second in the GLVC and 46th nationally, while his 1.5 steals per game ranks 10th in the league.
- Zach Howell leads the GLVC and third nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.468); he also ranks fourth nationally in three-point field goals made (81), while his free-throw percentage (.862) ranks fifth in the GLVC and his 1.4 steals per contest rank 13th in the conference.
- KeShaun Thomas is 18th in the GLVC in free throw percentage (.777) and third in free throws made (108).
- Colin Hardrick ranks seventh in the GLVC in total steals (36) and 12th in total rebounds (154).
BLOCK PARTY
- Drury freshman Kevin Sargeant has turned in a strong body of work since making his first collegiate start just last weekend against Truman State.
- In the Panthers last three games, Sargeant has averaged 9.0 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting .833 (10-for-12) from the floor.
- He has also been a force on the defensive end of the floor, recording seven blocked shots and five steals in those three games.
- In last Thursday's win over Quincy, he swatted a Panther season-high five shots against the Hawks.
- Sargeant's five blocked shots not only marked a 2025-26 season best by a Panther, but also the most by a DU player since Victor Nwagbarachoa rejected six shots on Jan. 29, 2022.
- Sargeant also recorded a pair of blocks in last Saturday's victory over Truman.
- Sargeant's 1.1 blocks per game rank fourth among all GLVC players.
- As a team, the Panthers have recorded 87 blocks on the season for an average of 3.6 per game, which ranks second in the GLVC and represents an increase of 1.2 per game from last year's average.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury returns to O'Reilly Family Event Center for its final two-game home stand of the season, beginning Thursday (Feb. 19) with a 7:45 p.m., GLVC contest against Southwest Baptist.
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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