SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— The Drury Panthers scored the final seven points of overtime to defeat Missouri-St. Louis 81-76 in the O’Reilly Family Event Center on Thursday night.
Drury raised their record to 13-10 and 6-9 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, while the Tritons dropped to 10-14 and 8-8 in the GLVC.
The game went overtime tied at 68-68, then UMSL scored the first basket of the extra period and led 76-74 until Drury guard Logan Applegate drained a three-pointer with 1:22 remaining. Applegate’s trey gave the Panthers their first lead of overtime, and Drury stayed in front after a missed three-pointer by Emanuel Prospere II and a defensive rebound by Riley Naeger.
Juok Riak got a lay-up with 28 seconds left that gave the Panthers a three-point lead, and the Panthers fought off two shots in the lane by UMSL on the next possession. Drury secured the rebound with eight seconds remaining, and Riak sank two free throws to seal the win.
The Panthers were playing without head coach Chris Foster, who left the arena with an illness several hours before tipoff.
“This is a great group,” said Drury assistant coach Marc Sonnen. “They came together, and we always talk that when one player goes down, another has to step up. With coach Foster out, all 16 of our guys stepped up and that’s what it takes to be the team we want to be. They showed heart, they showed toughness, and they showed that they care about their teammates.”
After trailing 39-36 at halftime, UMSL surged in front and led by nine, 61-52, with 11:32 left in regulation. Drury chipped away and tied the game with 1:54 remaining on free throws by Applegate.
“We’ve had some up-and-down games this season and I think we’ve learned from those experiences,” said Sonnen. “We showed some toughness with how we played down the stretch and having guys step up.”
Riak finished the game with 24 points and was 9 for 13 from the field and 3 for 6 from three-point range. Applegate added 17 points and four steals.
Matt Enright led the Tritons with 17 points.
The game was the first overtime contest this season for the Panthers.
Drury is back at home on Saturday when they host McKendree for a 3 pm game at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
