SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury men's basketball will look to extend its recent hot streak Saturday (Feb. 7) when it hosts Truman State for a 3 p.m., Homecoming game at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Drury (11-11, 6-8 GLVC) outlasted Quincy for an 87-85 victory Thursday evening, giving the Panthers three victories in their last four contests, dating back to Jan. 23. Truman State (9-12, 6-7 GLVC) closed out a 73-67 road victory over SBU in Bolivar Thursday, after the Bulldogs built a double-digit first-half lead.
Drury will commemorate its annual Homecoming tradition, as well as Scarlet and Gray Out for Saturday's contest.
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
- Truman State brings a 14-12 series advantage into Saturday's contest, including a 10-6 mark vs. Drury since the Bulldogs joined the GLVC in 2013.
- The Bulldogs have also won four-straight meetings in the series dating back to the 2023-24 season.
- Truman claimed an 86-79 victory in Kirksville on Dec.4, converting 11 straight free-throw attempts down the stretch to ice the win.
- Drury's last victory over Truman came in Springfield on March 2, 2024, with a 90-87 decision that closed the 2023-24 season.
ABOUT TRUMAN STATE
- Truman State enters Saturday's contest 9-12 overall and 6-7 in GLVC play under first-year head coach Mike Worley.
- Truman is shooting .458 from the floor — good for fourth overall in the GLVC — while averaging 76.9 points per game.
- The Bulldogs are led by Julian Brown's 15.2 ppg average, while Jahki Parrinello contributes 14.8 points per outing.
- Additionally, Emmanuel Byrd is averaging 10.3 points and 9.3 rebounds, the latter of which ranks leads the GLVC.
- Ja'Vion Byers (10.0 ppg) also averages in double figures for the Bulldogs.
- On the defensive end of the floor, the Bulldogs have permitted an average of 78.2 points per game, while limiting the opposition to .316 shooting from three-point range.
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.
- DU posted its first 4-0 start in six years, with wins over Ohio Dominican, Thomas More, Ecclesia and Ozark Christian.
- As a team, the Panthers are scoring at an 82.6 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 (18.2 ppg) and sophomore guard Colin Hardrick (15.3).
- 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 19 starts and averaging 8.9 points per outing to date.
- Several talented newcomers have contributed significantly in their first eight weeks as Panthers: freshman KeShaun Thomas (15.1 ppg) has been a dominant force in the paint, scoring in double-figures in 18 of the Panthers' 22 games, including four double-doubles; fellow rookie Keion Epps is averaging 5.9 points, in addition to his 5.1 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
- Colin Hardrick's go-ahead basket with 5.6 seconds remaining in regulation lifted Drury over Quincy, 87-85 Thursday evening at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
- With the score tied at 85-85 and the clock winding down, Hardrick drove the right side of the lane and banked home a running one-hander to give the Panthers the lead.
- Quincy's Camren Kincaid's last-second three-point attempt was off the mark, sealing the Drury victory in a game in which the Panthers shot 54.4-percent from the field and 94.1-percent from the free-throw line.
- The game-winning shot by Hardrick followed a big second-half comeback by the Hawks, who rallied from a 60-45 deficit to forge a tie on three separate occasions over the final eight minutes of the game.
- Four Panthers finished in double figures, led by KeShaun Thomas's 20 points, while Zach Howell scored 19 and Luke Stubbs added career highs of 17 points and four steals to help the DU cause.
BLOCK PARTY
- Drury freshman Kevin Sargeant turned in a defensive performance to remember in Thursday's win over Quincy, swatting 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 Nwagbaraocha rejected six shots against Missouri S&T on Jan. 29, 2022.
- Sargeant's 16 blocks are tied for the eighth-most among all GLVC players, while his average of 1.1 per game is tied for fourth in the conference.
- As a team, the Panthers have recorded 83 blocks on the season for an average of 3.8 per game, which ranks second in the GLVC and represents an increase of 1.4 per game from last year's average.
STUBBS STREAKING
- Luke Stubbs heated up over the course of the Panthers' recent six-game home stand (Dec. 17-Jan. 10), averaging 11.2 points while shooting .636 from three-point range.
- The junior guard notched four consecutive double-digit scoring performances after reaching double figures in just one of DU's first 11 games of the season.
- Stubbs recorded back-to-back career-high 15-point efforts in Drury's contests against Missouri S&T (Jan. 8) and Lincoln (Jan. 10), going a combined 10-of-18 from the floor and 7-of-8 at the foul line.
- Most recently, Stubbs turned in career-best totals of 17 points, five rebounds and four steals in Thursday's win over Quincy.
- For the season, Stubbs is averaging a career-best 8.9 points per game while shooting .478 from the floor and .447 from three-point range, all of which represent career bests.
PANTHERS IN THE RANKINGS
- The Panthers rank among the GLVC's top clubs in a number of categories entering the weekend, including the No. 2 blocked shot (3.8) and assist (15.6) per game averages in the conference.
- Drury also rated among the conference's best teams in scoring (82.6), turnovers forced (14.1) and offensive rebounds (12.0) per game, ranking third in those categories.
- The Panthers lead the GLVC and rank 10th nationally in total home attendance of 11,974 fans over their first 13 home contests this season at O'Reilly Family Event Center.
- Individually, Keion Epps' 5.1 assists per game ranks second in the GLVC and 25th nationally, while his 1.5 steals per game ranks 11th in the league.
- Zach Howell leads the GLVC and fourth nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.466); he also ranks fourth nationally in three-point field goals made (76), while free-throw percentage (.876) ranks third in the GLVC and his 1.5 steals per contest rank 12th in the conference.
- KeShaun Thomas is 14th in the GLVC in free throw percentage (.789) and fourth in free throws made (101).
- Colin Hardrick ranks ninth in the GLVC in total steals (35) and 10th in total rebounds (146).
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 (11,974) and average (921 per game) home attendance in 2025-26, currently ranking 10th among all Division II men's programs in average 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, which was the 13th-best season total among all Division II men's programs.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Panthers return to the road next Thursday (Feb. 12) for a 7:30 p.m., GLVC contest against William Jewell in Liberty, Mo.
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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