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SPRINGFIELD – Two made free throws by Tevin Foster with 9.8 seconds left lifted Drury to a 69-68 win over Missouri-St. Louis in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener on Thursday at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
The 15th ranked Panthers stayed unbeaten going to 6-0 and 1-0 in the GLVC while UMSL dropped to 4-4 and 0-1 in the league.
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After Foster’s free throws, the Tritons had a chance for the game-winner but Elijah Watson’s drive was stopped short of the lane. DJ White recovered an ensuing loose ball for UMSL but his contested shot fell short at the buzzer.
“UMSL came in played extremely hard and tested us our discipline,” said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. “Our youth showed tonight. We struggled this week in our preparation and it was evident when we made critical defensive errors.”
Drury had a quick start and scored the game’s first 13 points. The Tritons rallied, though, and in the closing seconds of the first half trailed by two, 41-39, but an Isaac Johnson three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave the Panthers a 44-39 lead at the break.
UMSL stayed close and took their first lead of the game, 59-58 with 5:42 remaining on a three-pointer by Kobe Wands. The Tritons went up by four, 66-62, with 2:25 left but the Panthers answered with a three by Johnson and free throws from Foster that gave Drury back the lead with 44 seconds remaining.
After White’s free throws gave UMSL the lead back, 68-67, with 17 seconds to go, Foster was fouled on a drive to the basket and connected on both free throws to give Drury the win.
Foster finished with a game-high 20 points and went 6 for 6 from the line with four of the made foul shots coming in the last minute of the game.
Watson led the Tritons with 18 points and went 3 for 4 from three-point range.
The Panthers are home again on Saturday with a conference game against Maryville. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
