ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Drury guard Malek Davis scored a career-high 31 points and sealed a Panthers win with a steal in the closing seconds as Drury edged Lindenwood 75-74 on Saturday in St. Charles, Missouri.
The Panthers trailed through most of the second half and were down by eight with just over eight minutes to go. Drury kept the score close, though, and a Davis three-pointer with 2:17 remaining put the Panthers in front 73-71.
Lindenwood tied the game moments later with a pair of free throws, but Riley Naeger gave Drury back the lead as he sunk a pair of foul shots with 1:44 left.
Lions guard Kevin Caldwell, Jr., made one of two free throws with 1:20 remaining to get Lindenwood within one, but neither team would score again.
The Lions had a chance to win with nine seconds remaining, but a Drury double-team near mid-court led to Davis’ steal with three seconds left and the Panthers ran out the clock for the win.
“I was really proud of how our guys bounced back and really proud of Malek because he had to carry the scoring load in the first half,” said Drury head coach Chris Foster. “In the second half, he did a great job of being more of a playmaker and getting other guys involved. It was good to see him grow in that way today.”
Davis scored 18 of his 31 points in the first half. The junior from St. Louis finished the game with four assists and three steals.
Riley Naeger and Quenton Shelton each had 12 points for Drury, while Obi Okafor added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Jacoby Ross led Lindenwood with 20 points.
Drury committed just seven turnovers in the game and shot 46 percent, hitting 31 of their 67 attempts. Lindenwood went 27 for 62 from the field for 44 percent.
The Panthers will play their third game in four days on Monday when they host William Jewell for a 7 pm game at the O’Reilly Family Event Center. Monday’s game is a make-up game that was originally scheduled on Jan. 2 but postponed due to COVID-19 issues on the Drury roster.
