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SPRINGFIELD – The Drury Panthers debuted their 2016-17 team with a 103-61 exhibition win over Kansas Christian on Thursday at the O’Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield.
Drury shot 57 percent from the field going 41 for 72 and owned a 55-29 rebounding advantage of the Falcons.
“Rebounding was a thing we emphasized tonight because we knew we had a size advantage,” said head coach Steve Hesser. “It created some offensive opportunities. We’d miss a perimeter shot but get a hustle play on the glass to get a second opportunity.”
Drury turned those second opportunities into 28 points off offensive rebounds.
Sophomore Grant Boswell led five Panthers in double-figures with 18 points. The Strafford product was 4 for 6 from three-point range. Joshua Palmer had 15 points and 7 rebounds while Douglas Moore had 12 points.
Freshman Isaac Johnson, out of Springfield-Kickapoo, had 11 points while John Williams chipped in 10.
Joshua Plain had 24 points to lead Kansas Christian. The Falcons are playing their first season in more than a decade after the program had been dropped by the school in 2005 but revived the season. Their 11-player roster was made up entirely of freshmen.
Thursday’s game is Drury’s only exhibition of the preseason.
The Panthers open the regular season on Nov. 12 against Webster for a 5 p.m. game at the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
