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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Drury Panthers connected on a school-record 19 three-pointers on their way to an opening night win over Ottawa (Kan.) 107-57.
Drury went 19 for 37 from behind the arc and pulled away from Braves in the second half outscoring their NAIA opponent 57-20 after halftime.
“This is part of what we’ll try to do all year,” said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. “We took the fewest three’s in the league last year and that’s not going to happen this year.”
John Williams led the Panthers with 18 points on 8 for 9 shooting from the field and the junior from Emporia, Kansas went 2 for 3 from three-point range. Kamau Kinder had 17 points and Isaac Johnson added 16 going 4 for 8 from outside the three-point arc.
The Panthers held Ottawa to 32 percent shooting from the field and after going 10 for 18 from three-point range in the first half, the Braves went 0 for 13 from there in the second half. Drury also forced 21 turnovers while only committing nine.
“We had seven turnovers at halftime and then only had two in the second half,” added Hesser. “We need to play smart with the ball and win the turnover differential every night.”
Drury’s 19 three-pointers surpassed a team record set in 1990 when the Panthers hit 17 treys against Southern Nazarene.
Friday’s win was Drury’s 15th straight opening day victory dating back to 2003.
Drury plays again on Tuesday in the Bank of Bolivar Highway 13 Catfight against Southwest Baptist. Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Bolivar.
