SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Fueled by a dominant second-half performance and balanced contributions from five double-figure scorers, Drury men's basketball closed out the home portion of its schedule in style, claiming its fifth-straight home victory with a 76-70 Great Lakes Valley Conference decision over Missouri-St. Louis Thursday evening inside O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Led by Luke Stubbs' 16-point Senior Night effort and a defense that limited the Tritons (16-13, 10-10 GLVC) to .367 (11-for-30) shooting in the second half, the Panthers (14-13, 9-10 GLVC) utilized a 22-8 scoring run to turn a seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead that they would not relinquish.
DU converted 57-percent (16-for-28) of its second-half field-goal attempts and outscored UMSL 46-30 in the paint to strengthen its position in the final stretch drive for a postseason berth in next week's GLVC Tournament.
Stubbs scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half, while freshman Keion Epps delivered one of his best performances as a Panther with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Both factored prominently in Drury's key run that saw the Panthers climb out of a 59-52 hole by scoring nine-straight points and 18 of 24 over an eight-minute span to take control of the contest for good.
KeShaun Thomas, who logged 11 points and seven rebounds, gave DU a 64-63 lead with his free throw at the 4:42 mark, before Epps sank an 18-foot jumper 30 seconds later to make it a three-point game.
The Panthers continued their surge, using a Colin Hardrick jumper and a back-breaking three-pointer by Zach Howell with just over a minute left on the clock to stretch the margin to 74-67.
The victory kept Drury in the hunt for a GLVC Tournament bid with just one final game remaining on the schedule, slate for Saturday afternoon at Missouri S&T. It also extended the Panthers' recent hot streak at The O', where DU hasn't dropped a game since Jan. 22 vs. Illinois Springfield.
In addition to big nights from Stubbs, Epps and Thomas, the Panthers received strong performances from Howell, who went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc to move up to the No. 6 spot on Drury's single-season three-point field goals made list (88). The redshirt junior tallied 11 points for the night, climbing to within 31 points of the first 500-point season by a Panther since 2019-20.
Hardrick also added a double-figure scoring effort with 10 points to go along with two assists and two of DU's six blocks on the night.
The strong finish followed a tightly-contested first 30 minutes, as the two teams played to 11 ties and 12 lead changes, with neither club holding a lead of more than five points until the 11:27 mark of the second half.
UMSL used an 18-11 closing run over the final eight minutes of the opening half to turn a four-point deficit into a 36-33 halftime advantage. The Tritons' freshman duo of Miles Boland and Taye Moore shouldered the offensive load, combining for 26 of UMSL's first-half points. Boland possessed the hot hand in the early stages of the game, knocking down his first five field-goal attempts to stake the Tritons to aa 16-11 lead.
But the Panthers responded with a 7-0 scoring spurt that was capped by Kevin Sargeant's layup on a feed from Hardrick for an 18-16 DU lead.
From that point the Drury defense seized control, as the Panthers held the Tritons without a field goal for nearly five minutes, while the duo of Isaiah Otyaluk and Hardrick combined to block five UMSL shots. DU forced eight Triton turnovers in the opening stanza, turning those takeaways into a 9-0 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.
Drury took its largest lead of the half on a Hardrick basket that completed an 11-2 Panthers run, giving the home club a 22-18 edge with 8:31 left on the clock.
It would be Moore's turn to catch fire for the Tritons in the late stages of the half, as the rookie guard knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to ignite UMSL's offense, before adding another bucket with 2:28 to play to put the visitors in front, 30-29.
Quenton Parker drained a trey to make it a four-point game, and a Demetris Phillips layup in the closing minute stretched the UMSL lead to five points, matching the largest cushion of the night for either club.
DU scored the first four points of the second half to briefly reclaim the lead, before the Tritons used a 10-4 outburst to establish a five-point advantage.
But it would be all Drury down the stretch, after Hardrick found a wide-open Stubbs for a layup, then connected on a basket in transition following a Sargeant steal before a Howell triple from the right wing put the Panthers on top.
Moore led all scorers with 25 points, while Boland finished with 15 points and eight assists to lead the Tritons.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers will conclude their regular-season schedule Saturday (Feb. 28), when they travel to Rolla for a 3 p.m., GLVC contest against Missouri S&T at Gibson Arena.
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