KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Rockhurst used the combination of a shutdown defensive effort and clutch shooting to outlast Drury men's basketball 88-75 in a tightly-contested Great Lakes Valley Conference victory Saturday afternoon at Mason-Halpin Field House.
The Hawks shot .565 (35-of-62) for the afternoon and rode a 23-point performance from Drenin Dinkins to their 11th win in their last 12 contests. Rockhurst, who sits alone atop the GLVC regular-season standings with its 13-3 league record, limited the Panthers to .353 shooting -- the Panthers' second-lowest field-goal percentage of the season -- including just a 12-of-39 (.308) effort in the second half.
Despite those offensive numbers, the Panthers went toe-to-toe with the Hawks for the bulk of the contest. DU held a three-point lead late in the opening half, before the Hawks used a 17-4 spurt over a four-and-a-half minute stretch to take the lead for good. The Panthers remained within striking distance deep into the second half, slicing their deficit to just four points with just over nine minutes to play.
But Rockhurst mounted one last charge to seal the outcome, outscoring the Panthers 24-14 over the next eight minutes, going 10-of-12 from the floor to take a 14-point lead -- its largest of the afternoon. Dinkins tallied eight of his point during the run, while five additional Hawks contributed to the scoring during the key stretch to help Rockhurst avenge its 104-98 loss to Drury in Springfield on Jan. 2.
Colin Hardrick paced the Panthers with a game-high 25 points, finishing 9-of-10 at the foul line, while also recording four steals and seven rebounds. KeShaun Thomas registered his second straight double-double, scoring 15 points and corralling a career-best 12 boards for Drury.
Drury (12-13, 7-10 GLVC) overcame a sluggish start on the offensive end, as well as a 60-percent shooting effort by Rockhurst in the opening half to build a three-point lead late in the period over the GLVC-leading Hawks. The Panthers converted just one of their first seven field-goal attempts, but bounced back behind the play of Hardrick and Thomas, who combined for 21 first-half points.
After Rockhurst vaulted out of the gate to an early 9-4 advantage, neither club would lead by more than five points the rest of the half. In a period that featured seven ties and four lead changes, the Panthers seized their first lead of the game via a 5-0 scoring run, fueled by a Hardrick three-pointer and a pair of Isaiah Otyaluk free throws.
DU extended its advantage to 34-31 on two Brady Nicholson free throws with 4:23 to play in the half.
But the Hawks (19-5, 13-3 GLVC) heated up to outscore the Panthers by a 12-4 margin over the final 3:20, using a Jack Scott corner three-pointer as a springboard for the spurt. Michah Deaver scored five of those points for Rockhurst, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 53 seconds left that snapped a 38-38 tie and put the Hawks in front to stay.
The Panthers converted 23-of-30 free-throw attempts on the day, but hit just 4-of-21 tries from beyond the three-point arc.
In addition to big performances by Hardrick and Thomas, Zach Howell was the only other Panther to finish in double figures, logging 14 points to go along with four steals.
LOOKING AHEAD
Drury returns to O'Reilly Family Event Center for a Thursday (Feb. 19) GLVC matchup with Southwest Baptist, beginning at 7:45 p.m.
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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