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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drury opened the second half on a 15-0 run on their way to a 103-68 win over Maryville on Saturday at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
The Panthers kept their record perfect improving to 7-0 and 2-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Maryville dropped to 2-8 and 0-2 in the conference.
Drury led by just five in the closing seconds of the first half but a hook under the basket by Joshua Palmer at the halftime buzzer gave the Panthers a 48-41 lead at the intermission.
John Williams started Drury’s second half with a steal and lay-up to spark the 15-0 run. The Panthers outscored the Saints 55-27 in the second half.
“Our defense, collectively, was solid in the second half,” said Panthers head coach Steve Hesser. “Against Maryville, they spread you out and cut. We were better in the second half of being more aware and getting to where we were supposed to be.”
The Panthers connected on 16 of 28 three-point attempts. Six different Drury players hit shots from behind the arc led by Tevin Foster, who went 5 for 8 from long-distance.
Foster led six Drury players that scored in double-figures. The junior from Lawton, Oklahoma had 24 points on 7 for 11 shooting from the field and 5 for 5 shooting from the free throw line. Williams and Douglas Moore both added 17 points.
“I thought, for 40 minutes, we had a good rhythm and a good flow,” added Hesser. “Sometimes it’s hard to get five guys to be in the same rhythm and same flow, but I thought we had that today.”
Karson King led the Saints with 17 points.
The Panthers are idle for a week but are home again next Saturday. Drury hosts Missouri S&T for a 3 p.m. conference game on Dec. 10 at the O’Reilly Family Event Center for their next game.
