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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Drury Panthers hit 9 of their first 10 shots and went on to shoot 68 percent from the field in a 102-69 win over the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday night at the O’Reilly Family Event Center. The game was the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both teams.
Drury raised their record to 5-1 and 1-0 in the GLVC. The Tritons dropped to 3-3 and 0-1 in the league.
The Panthers pulled away from UMSL midway through the first half as they went on an 18-5 run to claim a 27-13 lead with 10:14 remaining before halftime.
Drury went 21 for 27 from the floor and 9 for 10 from three-point range in the game’s first 20 minutes. The Panthers owned a 53-25 advantage at halftime.
Isaac Johnson led both teams with 24 points and connected on five three-pointers in the first half. The sophomore from Kickapoo finished the game going 9 for 11 from the field and six for eight from behind the arc.
“Isaac Johnson set the tone for us early,” said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. “We were able to hit some shots early and got them to turn it over in the first half.”
The Panthers ended the game going 39 for 57 from the field and 16 for 26 from three-point range. Drury’s 102 points marked their third straight game to top the century mark.
Conley Garrison had 12 points for Drury while Andrew Ballock chipped in with 10.
Davious Webster had 16 points to lead UMSL.
The Panthers are home again on Saturday as they host McKendree. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
