QUINCY, Ill.— It was a game decided by a fraction of a second and a lengthy video review, but after multiple viewings of the game’s final play by the officiating crew, Quincy emerged with an 84-83 win over Drury on Monday night in Quincy, Illinois.
Drury, who led for nearly 19 minutes of the second half, took a one-point lead with seven seconds left after a three-pointer from Logan Applegate.
Quincy went the length of the floor and had a baseline jumper blocked out of bounds by Applegate with 1.8 seconds left. After a video review added 0.2 to the clock, Paul Zilinskas missed a shot in the lane, but Jamaurie Coakley tipped the ball in at the buzzer, putting Quincy ahead by one.
Video of the final play was reviewed for more than five minutes as officials tried to determine if the Hawks got the shot away in time but finally determined the basket would count.
“I’m proud of the way we fought,” said Drury head coach Chris Foster. “I thought we had a lot of guys do a lot of good things. If we can consistently compete that way, then we’ll be OK.”
Drury led 44-42 at halftime, then pushed the lead to nine early in the second half. The Hawks stayed close, though, and took the lead, 80-78, with a minute remaining. After Applegate sank two free throws that tied it, Zilinskas forced up a shot in the lane to give his team back the lead with 15 seconds left. Applegate’s corner three-point basket put the Panthers back up by one with seven seconds left, but Quincy ended Drury’s upset bid on the final possession.
Zion Richardson had 25 points to lead Quincy, while Zilinskas finished with 20.
Applegate had 18 points for Drury. Quenton Shelton added 14 points, while Brock Wakefield and Riley Naeger both finished with 13.
Drury shot 55 percent in the game, hitting 32 of 58 shots. They were 9 for 26 from three-point range. The Hawks shot 45 percent going 31 for 69 and 10 for 21 from behind the arc. Quincy owned a 33-27 rebound advantage and had 10 offensive boards to Drury’s four.
Quincy improved to 11-6 and 7-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference and dropped the Panthers to 6-11 and 2-7 in the GLVC.
Drury is back at home Thursday when they host William Jewell for a 7:45 pm game at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
