Epps
Hudson Harkness, Drury Sports Communications
101
Winner Drury Drury 16-13,10-10 GLVC
92
Rockhurst Rock 23-6,17-3 GLVC
Winner
Drury Drury
16-13,10-10 GLVC
101
Final
92
Rockhurst Rock
23-6,17-3 GLVC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Drury Drury 55 46 101
Rockhurst Rock 46 46 92

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Eric Doennig, Associate AD - Media Relations

Panthers Take Down Top-Seeded Rockhurst to Advance in GLVC Tournament

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Behind a balanced offensive attack that featured six double-figure scorers, Drury men's basketball upset Great Lakes Valley Conference regular-season champion Rockhurst 101-92 in the quarterfinal round of the GLVC Men's Basketball Championship Thursday evening at the Mark Twain Building.

Led by Zach Howell's 25-point effort, Drury (16-13, 10-10 GLVC) used a 16-7 first-half scoring run to take control of the contest, then squashed a second-half rally by the Hawks with a 12-2 spurt to help seal its second win in three games against the top-seeded Hawks (23-6, 17-3 GLVC) this season. Howell, who went 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, drilled a pair of critical three's in the span of 59 seconds in the second half to help turn away a Rockhurst comeback bid.

Howell received plenty of help, as six of the seven Panthers who played in the contest scored at least 11 points, including a combined 47 points from DU's four freshmen, Keion Epps (16), Isaiah Otyaluk (11), Kevin Sargeant (4) and KeShaun Thomas (16). Their efforts helped negate a 30-point night from the GLVC's leading scorer, Drenin Dinkins, as well as a 29-point effort by the league's player of the year Jaylen Wesley.

Additionally, Colin Hardrick scored 16 points and matched Howell's effort on the boards with a game-high nine rebounds, sparking a red-hot first-half shooting effort by the Panthers, who connected on 22-of-35 (.629) field-goal attempts to build a 55-46 lead at intermission.

Epps delivered one of the best performances of his young DU career, going 6-of-7 from the charity stripe and knocking down a pair of key three-pointers while handing out a team-leading three assists and recording a game-high three steals.
 
Drury possessed the hot hand early in the contest, racing out to an 8-2 lead behind three-pointers from Howell and Hardrick. Rockhurst battled back to score 10 of the next 14 points, then seized a 19-16 lead -- its largest of the half -- on Dinkins' trey with 13:16 left on the clock.

The Panthers responded behind the long-distance shooting of a pair of freshmen, as Epps and Otyaluk nailed three-pointers to spark a DU run that would hike its lead to nine points. 

DU led 38-29 with just under eight minutes remaining in the half, but the Hawks whittled the margin down to five points, with Wesley delivering two of his 10 first-half makes from the foul line to pull Rockhurst to within 42-37.

But Drury bounced back with an 11-4 spurt, fueled by five points by Hardrick and a defense that flustered the Hawks into 1-of-6 shooting over the four-minute duration of the critical run that handed the Panthers their biggest lead yet at 53-41.

The Hawks cut into the margin in the early stages of the second half, pulling to within 57-52 on a pair of Landon Eiland free throws. 

But a pair of Thomas free throws and three-straight points by Luke Stubbs stretched the DU advantage back into double digits. Once again, the Panther freshman played a pivotal role in the next stretch, as Epps and Thomas joined forces to tally the final eight points of DU's back-breaking 12-2 run that ultimately extended the lead to 15 points with just under 13 minutes left on the clock.

Rockhurst, taking advantage of 28 personal fouls called on the Panthers, climbed back into the game thanks in large part to its 36-of-42 effort at the foul line. The duo of Dinkins and Wesley combined to convert 29-of-30 free throws, helping the Hawks stay within striking distance of DU until Howell sank his two key three-pointers, the last of which gave the Panthers an 82-67 lead with 7:56 to play.

The Hawks would narrow the gap to as few as five points late in the contest, but the duo of Epps, Thomas and Otyaluk combined to score the final seven Drury points over the final 1:22 to help ice the victory.
 
UP NEXT
Drury advances to the semifinal round of the GLVC Championship, where it will face off against the winner of Friday's Indianapolis-Missouri S&T quarterfinal matchup, with tip-off scheduled for 5:45 p.m. Saturday.
 
FOLLOW THE PANTHERS
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
Print Friendly Version