LAS VEGAS, Nev.— The 25th ranked Drury Panthers lost for the first time this year in the regular season as Rollins outscored Drury 42-30 in the second half for a 72-67 victory at South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday. The game was the first round of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
Drury led 37-30 at halftime and briefly owned a nine-point lead early in the second half before the Tars chipped away and pulled even at 56-56 with 4:58 left. The Tars went in front on a three-point play by Jakobi Bonner 11 seconds later with and would never trail again.
The Panthers went just 3 for 14 from the free throw line and missed all seven of their foul shots in the second half while Rollins went 27 for 33 from the charity stripe.
“We had a seven-point lead at halftime, but their head coach (Tom Klusman) is in his 40th year, and he knows how to make adjustments,” said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. “Their zone spreads you out, and you have to get the ball in the middle of that zone. We got the ball there, but instead of (their defense) collapsing, they stayed out with our shooters. That made it tough for us from the perimeter, and we compounded it by missing free throws. You have to give them credit – they were the more physical basketball team.”
Jakobi Bonner led all scorers with 23 points while Dayton Gumm added 18, including 15 in the second half.
Asa Hutchinson led Drury with 14 points. Junior forward Brandon Emmert got his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Isaac Johnson also had 12 points. In the second half, Drury’s guards were held to just two made field goals and a total of six points for the first 18 minutes of the half.
The Panthers were 26 for 60 from the field for 43 percent and went 12 for 30 from three-point range. The Tars were just 20 for 53 from the floor to shoot 37 percent and made only 5 of 23 three’s but outscored Drury by 24 points from the free throw line.
Drury returns to action on Sunday at 4:15 pm (Central) and will play the loser of the Montana State-Billings vs. Pittsburg State game in the consolation game of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
