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Drury outscored Missouri Southern State 24-9 midway through the second half to pull away for an 83-68 win on Saturday at the O’Reilly Family Event Center in the Doubletree by Hilton and Houlihan’s Thanksgiving Classic.
The Panthers improved to 5-0 and dropped the Lions to 4-2.
Drury had a 33-32 lead at halftime and were up 45-41 five minutes into the second half when the Panthers went on a quick 8-0 run. After two made free throws by Tevin Foster, Kamau Kinder and Brandon Wolfe hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions pushing Drury’s lead to double-digits. The Lions never got within 10 points of the lead after that sequence.
Foster scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half while adding eight rebounds and four assists. Wolfe came off the bench to knock down four three-pointers as part his 16 points while John Williams added 15 points.
“I thought John got off to a good start and got the ball to the basket,” said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. “Wolfe gave us a boost off of the bench for the second night in a row with his perimeter shooting. Tevin didn’t have things going his way in the first half but I think he grew up a little bit tonight, too. He ended up making some plays for us down the stretch.”
Drury had five players in double-figures as they shot 54 percent from the field converting on 31 of 57 attempts. The Panthers also shot 50 percent from three-point range going 11 for 22.
CJ Carr had 13 points to lead to the Lions.
Drury opens play in the Great Lakes Valley Conference for their next game. The Panthers host Missouri-St. Louis at 7:45 p.m. on Thursday in the O’Reilly Family Event Center.
