Springfield, MO – SBU swept Drury in Springfield for the first time in the history of their rivalry. The SBU women won in a nail biter, 66-65. The men won in a close game too, 65-62.
MEN’S RECAP:
The SBU men’s basketball team traveled down Hwy 13 to battle rival Drury University. The Bearcats led nearly the entire game and pulled out their third straight victory over the Panthers (ties school record), winning 65-62. They collect their first GLVC win of the year moving to 4-6 (1-2 GLVC) on the season.
Â
“I was really proud of the way we came out and guarded. We’ve been talking about that and so I was really proud of that.”- Head Coach Aaron Niven said.
Â
The SBU defense held the potent Drury offense to only 62 points, when they had been averaging 81.2 points per game. The same offense had been shooting at a 49% clip on the season but only shot 41.2% this afternoon.
Â
“The guys have been working really hard. I’m just glad for them to be able to see some success in a conference game.”
Â
The Bearcats dominated the glass out rebounding the Panthers 42-25 with 22 total offensive rebounds, creating 14 second chance points. Six of those offense rebounds came from Junior transfer David Hector, who also had the teams’ first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, adding five assists into the mix.
Â
Sophomore Drenin Dinkins tied a team high in points with 13 on the game but had two clutch free throws in the final minute of the game. Seven other Bearcats entered the scoring column including Jerry Abushanab, Noah Franklin, Drew McMillin, Ryan Stevenson, Branden Eckles, Bayley Crawford, and Ayden Stone.
WOMEN’S RECAP:
The SBU women’s basketball team traveled down Hwy 13 to battle rival Drury University. The Bearcats shocked the O’Reilly Event Center as they upset the 12th ranked team in the Nation winning 66-65. This is SBU’s first win over Drury in Springfield since 2010, collecting their third ever win against the Panthers. They move to 5-5 (2-3 GLVC) on the season.
Â
“All glory to God! We have an amazingly persistent team and this win feels amazing not just because it’s against Drury but more importantly it allows these girls to show themselves how great they can be!” Head Coach Wyketha Harrell said, “Drury is a great team with great coaches. They have a winning culture that makes you have to be at your best to succeed. I told my girls there is no secret to success, there are only patterns. I challenged them to continue to build what that pattern looks like for us.”
Â
The Bearcat defense came up big in the win holding the Panthers to only 65 points, when they average 77 points a game. They forced the Panthers into 16 total turnovers, creating offense from defense with 17 points off turnovers. “I’m a defensive coach and today’s game theme was ‘Defend 2 win.’ It was a perfect ending that we needed to get one stop to win!!”
Â
It was a whole team effort in the win today as 10 different Bearcats scored and six scored 6 points or more in the win. Junior Claudia Vanzant led the entire team with 15 points going 6-9 from the field while pulling down five rebounds. Fellow junior Bianca Oliver scored her second straight double-digit with 10 today and had a career high four steals. Senior Kallyn Stumbo continued to perform at a high level, playing 37 total minutes pulling down nine rebounds, dishing out three assists and 1 steal. She also scored the game winning basket in the final minute of the game.
Â
“I am so proud of our team! Our coaches prepared us well, and all of our players had big moments stepping up when we really needed it. I am so proud of how we stayed together and battled to earn a big win!” -Stumbo
Â
The women’s basketball team will now head to Christmas break for three weeks. They will return to action on Saturday December 30th as they host Hannibal-LaGrange. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00pm in the Meyer Center.
