SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury men's basketball returns to O'Reilly Family Event Center Thursday (Feb. 19) to open its final home stand of the season with a 7:45 p.m., contest against Southwest Baptist.
Drury (12-13, 7-10 GLVC) dropped a pair of GLVC road games last weekend in Kansas City, but brings a three-game home winning streak into Thursday's matchup. SBU (12-12, 6-10 GLVC) will be looking to stop a three-game skid after falling to Rockhurst at home last Thursday.
Both the Panthers and Bearcats enter the contest looking to gain ground in the GLVC standings, with DU (7-10) sitting in 10th place, one-half game behind Truman State for the ninth position, and SBU one-half game behind the Panthers in 11th (6-10).
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 brings 43-25 series advantage vs. SBU into Thursday's game.
- Since SBU became a GLVC member in 2019, the Bearcats hold a slim 7-5 edge in the series.
- SBU claimed a 76-59 victory over the Panthers in the two clubs' first meeting of the season on Dec. 1 in Bolivar.
- Last season, the Panthers swept the Bearcats in their home-and-home series, including a 19-point home win on Dec. 2, as well as an 89-59 victory in Bolivar on Feb. 22.
ABOUT SBU
- Southwest Baptist enters Thursday's game 12-12 overall and 6-10 in the GLVC.
- The Bearcats have dropped three straight games following their 16-point home setback to Rockhurst last Thursday.
- SBU claimed a 76-59 victory over the Panthers in the two clubs' first meeting of the season in Bolivar on Dec. 1; the Bearcats shot .538 from the floor, as Brandon Moore led all scorers with 23 points.
- As a team, SBU is shooting .459 from the floor overall, while averaging 71.3 points per game, led by Zac Reedus's 17.3 ppg average, while Barron Silsby is contributing 12.4 points.
On the defensive end of the floor, the Bearcats have limited the opposition to just 68.4 points per outing, which is the No. 3 scoring defense in the GLVC.
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 81.6 ppg clip, while allowing an average of 78.9 points per outing.
- Drury is paced by an offense that features three double-figure scorers, led by junior guard Zach Howell (17.7 ppg) and sophomore guard Colin Hardrick (15.8).
- 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 22 starts and averaging 9.0 points per outing to date.
- Several talented newcomers have contributed significantly in their first 13 weeks as Panthers: freshman KeShaun Thomas (15.0 ppg) has been a dominant force in the paint, scoring in double-figures in 21 of the Panthers' 25 games, including six double-doubles; fellow rookie Keion Epps is averaging 5.5 points, in addition to his 4.6 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
- Rockhurst used the combination of a shutdown defensive effort and clutch shooting to outlast the Panthers, 88-75 Saturday afternoon at Mason-Halpin Field House in Kansas City.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- Colin Hardrick paced the Panthers with a game-high 25 points, 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.
KESHAUN CLIMBING
- Freshman KeShaun Thomas is putting together one of the top all-around rookie seasons in Drury history, with seven 20+ point performances and six double-doubles to his credit through 25 games.
- Thomas currently ranks eighth on Drury's all-time freshman scoring list with 376 points, just nine points behind Matt Miller in the No. 7 position on the chart.
- The Quincy, Ill., product also rates seventh on DU's rookie rebounding chart with 173 -- just 10 behind Shaun Bass in the No. 6 spot and 16 shy of Roland Shultz's 189 in the fifth position.
- Additionally, Thomas has proven to be one of the top freshmen in the GLVC all season, with his 15.0 ppg. average leading all league freshmen, and his .492 field-goal percentage ranking second among all GLVC rookies.
NO PLACE LIKE HO'ME
- 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 (13,212) and average (944 per game) home attendance in 2025-26, currently ranking 14th among all Division II men's programs in total attendance.
- 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 Family Event Center, which was the 13th-best season total among all Division II men's programs.
BLOCK PARTY
- Drury freshman Kevin Sargeant has turned in a strong body of work since making his first collegiate start on Feb. 7 against Truman State.
- In the Panthers last four games, Sargeant has averaged 8.3 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting .650 (13-for-20) from the floor.
- He has also been a force on the defensive end of the floor, recording 10 blocked shots and six steals in those four games.
- In DU's Feb. 5 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 the Panthers' victory over Truman.
- Sargeant's 1.2 blocks per game rank third among all GLVC players.
- As a team, the Panthers have recorded 90 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.
PANTHERS IN THE RANKINGS
- The Panthers rank among the GLVC's top clubs in a number of categories entering Thursday's game, including the No. 2 blocked shot (3.6), steal (8.6) and assist (15.04) per game averages in the conference.
- Drury also rated among the conference's best teams in scoring (81.6) and turnovers forced (13.9) per game, ranking third in those categories.
- The Panthers lead the GLVC and rank 14th 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' 4.6 assists per game ranks second in the GLVC and 53rd nationally, while his 1.4 steals per game ranks 14th in the league.
- Zach Howell leads the GLVC and sixth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.455); he also ranks seventh nationally in three-point field goals made (81), while his free-throw percentage (.856) ranks sixth in the GLVC and his 1.5 steals per contest rank 10th in the conference.
- KeShaun Thomas is third in the GLVC in free throws made (116), eighth in total rebounding (173) and 11th in total scoring (376).
- Colin Hardrick ranks sixth in the GLVC in total steals (40) and 11th in total rebounds (161).
LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers will wrap up their home slate next Thursday (Feb. 26) when they host UMSL for a 7:45 p.m. game 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
