BOCA RATON, Fla. – Drury stayed unbeaten as they pulled away in the final nine minutes from Palm Beach Atlantic for an 80-74 win in the first day of the Boca Raton Holiday Classic in Florida on Friday.
The Panthers, ranked ninth in NCAA-II, improved to 9-0 as they played in their first game of the year away from the O’Reilly Family Event Center. Drury’s eight previous games have all been at home. The Sailfish dropped to 5-5 with the loss.
Drury trailed 59-57 with 9:40 left but the Panthers responded by outscoring Palm Beach Atlantic 19-7 to take a 76-66 lead with 1:50 remaining. The Sailfish clawed back within four points of the lead in the final 20 seconds but Tevin Foster made two free throws with 10 seconds left to help put the game away.
Foster led all scorers with 24 points while going 7 for 12 from the floor, 4 for 5 from three-point range and he hit all six of his free throw attempts. The junior from Lawton, Oklahoma added six assists and five rebounds.
“From the get-go, Palm Beach Atlantic was the more aggressive team,” said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. “They shot 27 free throws to our 10 and they got us to turn it over 20 times. But we got back on track in the last few minutes. We got John Williams to the basket a couple of times, Tevin hit some three’s and Alan Hyatt had a big block late.”
Williams had 13 points for the Panthers while Isaac Johnson added 12.
Grant Gullett led five Sailfish in double-figures with 13 points.
Drury shot 50.8 percent from the floor hitting 32 of their 63 shots. The Panthers were 9 for 10 from the free throw line while Palm Beach Atlantic went 20 for 27 from the line. The Sailfish hit just 39 percent from the field, though, connecting on 24 of their 61 attempts.
The Panthers are one of 11 teams in NCAA-II that are still unbeaten. Drury will put that record on the line Saturday when they take on the host school in second day of the Boca Raton Holiday Classic. Drury faces Lynn University for a 6:30 p.m. (central) tipoff in the de Hoernle Sports & Cultural Center on Saturday.
