SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Keyed by a critical 26-8 first-half scoring run, Drury men's basketball used dominant performances on both ends of the court to run away with an 80-56 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over Southwest Baptist Thursday evening inside O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Drury (13-13, 8-10 GLVC) received contributions from up and down its roster with nine different players scoring, as the Panthers led for more than 36 minutes and stretched their advantage to as many as 31 points down the stretch to avenge a 75-59 road setback to SBU on Dec. 1 in Bolivar.
The Panther defense recorded a big night as well, holding the Bearcats (12-13, 6-11 GLVC) to .373 (22-of-59) shooting, including a collective 2-of-25 (.080) effort from beyond the arc, marking the lowest three-point field-goal percentage for a Drury opponent this season. Additionally, DU turned the Bearcats' 15 turnovers into a 26-7 advantage in points off turnovers for the game.
KeShaun Thomas led the Panthers with 17 points on just eight field-goal attempts, while adding eight rebounds and a game-high four assists. The freshman knocked down 7-of-8 free throw attempts and tallied 11 points in the second half to help DU pull away for its biggest win in GLVC play since an 89-59 rout of SBU on Feb. 22 of last year.
Like Thomas, Zach Howell heated up in the second half to power the Panthers' attack. The junior from Springfield converted 3-of-5 three-point attempts after intermission and registered 11 points for the half.
The second-half efforts of Thomas and Howell followed a big first-half from the Drury bench, led by Isaiah Otyaluk's 13 points, helping the Panthers take a 39-28 lead into the break.
Thanks to a balanced offensive performance that included a 26-8 scoring run, the Panthers built an early 17-point behind a 12-of-20 shooting effort to open the contest. Otyaluk sparked the Panthers early, as the redshirt freshman combined with Keion Epps to go 5-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc in the opening period, giving the home club a 19-4 first-half advantage in bench scoring.
Otyaluk buried a trio of three-pointers to help fuel the Panthers scoring outburst that turned a 9-8 SBU lead into a 34-17 Drury advantage. In all, seven different players contributed to the Panthers' first-half scoring, and DU recorded 11 assists on 14 field goals over the game's first 20 minutes.
After SBU trimmed the margin to 11 points at intermission, Drury went back to work in the second half, this time using its defense to extend the lead. The Panther defense, which forced eight first-half turnovers, was once again stingy against the Bearcat offense, yielding just two points while forcing three more turnovers over the first four minutes of the second half.
During the same stretch, the Panthers opened the scoring on a Howell three-pointer, before a Luke Stubbs bucket and two Colin Hardrick free throws made it a 46-30 game.
The Panthers continued to apply pressure behind the shooting of Howell, who heated up to knock down three of his first four three-point attempts following halftime. Thomas tallied four straight points for the Panthers to open a string of 12 straight points as part of a 16-2 scoring run.
Howell followed with his third trey of the half to give DU a 58-34 lead, and Epps' layup capped the spurt and made it a 28-point game with 9:15 to play.
SBU would get no closer than 24 points the rest of the way, with Drury extending its bulge to 76-45 -- its biggest lead of the night -- on Stubbs' three-point play with 4:42 remaining.
In addition to big nights by Thomas and Howell, Otyaluk finished with 15 points, while Epps added 10 points and three assists.
Zac Reedus led SBU with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds, while Leo Gayman added 10 points and nine boards.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following an off weekend, Drury will host UMSL next Thursday (Feb. 26) for its final home game of the season, beginning at 7:45 p.m., at The O'.
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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