SPRINGFIELD, Mo.—Quincy guard Nate Shockley hit a three-pointer with three seconds left, thwarting a Drury come back to give the Hawks a 67-64 win on Saturday at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
The Panthers trailed 41-29 at halftime and were down by ten, 58-48, with 5:57 remaining. They chipped away and pulled within two on a Preston Cook three-pointer with 36 seconds left. Drury forced a turnover six seconds later, and Adam Moore pulled the Panthers even at 64-64 on a lay-up with 13 seconds on the clock.
After a Quincy time-out, Hawks forward Paul Zalinskas had his drive to the lane cut off at the free-throw line but found Shockley for the game-winning basket.
With no time-outs remaining, Drury got the ball past half-court and Brock Wakefield launched a 35-foot shot at the buzzer that found the front of the rim but bounced off.
“I’m proud of how we came back, but this was just like last week (in a one-point loss at Maryville),” said Panthers assistant coach Chris Carr. “We had a late-game situation with a chance to get a stop and the ball just didn’t go our way. For a young team, this gets really challenging because it takes the wind out of their sails. We have to find a way to come back, but the best part of it is that these guys continue to fight.”
Drury head coach Chris Foster missed Saturday’s game with an illness. Foster was in the arena for the team’s pregame practice in the morning but left the facility hours before game time.
Trey Lewis led the Panthers with a game-high 14 points, while Adam Moore and Preston Cook both had 12.
Zilinskas had 13 points to lead Quincy.
Drury outshot the Hawks as the Panthers went 20 for 44 for the field for 46 percent and made 11 of their 27 three-point attempts. Quincy made 43 percent of their field goals and was 6 for 20 from behind the arc. The Hawks, though, shot 57 percent in the first half, going 16 for 28 before Drury held them to 28 percent shooting in the second half as Quincy went 7 for 25 from the field after halftime.
The Panthers are idle until Dec. 19, when they travel to Southern Arkansas for a 5 pm game in Magnolia, Ark.
