Teddy Simniok scored a season-high 21 points to lead four in double-figures and unbeaten Drury rolled to a 90-61 victory over No. 19 Arkansas Tech to complete the Comfort Inn/Drury Thanksgiving Classic Saturday afternoon at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
The Panthers (4-0) also received 18 points from Cameron Adams, a career-high 13 points from freshman Kameron Bundy and 10 points from Ian Carter, while senior point guardBrandon Lockhart had nine points, six rebounds, six steals and a career-high 12 assists.
Lockhart - now averaging 8.5 assists and 4.8 steals through the Panthers' first four games - and Adams were named to the all-tourney team, along with Arkansas Tech's Will Paul, Missouri-St. Louis' Josh McCoy and Central Oklahoma's Josh Davis. UMSL beat Central Oklahoma 90-76 to win Saturday's opener.
The Panthers trailed Arkansas Tech (1-2) by five (19-14) with 11 minutes left in the opening half before going on a 17-0 run over the next seven minutes to take command. Drury led 40-25 at halftime, hitting 14 of 25 shots (56 percent) from the field while limiting the Wonder Boys to 32-percent shooting (8 of 25) over the game's first 20 minutes.
Drury then scored the first 12 points in the second half to lead 52-25 and the blowout was on.
"Their athleticism and physicality bothered us early some, but I thought we settled in and didn't drop our heads," Drury coach Steve Hesser said. "In the first half in particular, I thought we did a really good job of being collective on defense and really getting on the boards.
"I can't say enough about Teddy (Simniok). Their mindset was they were going to take Alex (Hall) out of the game, and because of that, we were able to get others more involved. Teddy and Cameron Adams really gave us a shot in the arm
"Arkansas Tech is a physical, athletic team, and our guys responded in a positive way, so I couldn't be prouder of them."
Simniok also snagged a game-high eight rebounds as Drury claimed a 40-32 rebounding advantage. The Panthers had 22 assists on their 29 baskets, and defensively, limited the Wonder Boys to 24-percent shooting (9 of 38) in the second half as Arkansas Tech finished at 27 percent (17 of 63) for the game.
Drury hit 57 percent from the field (29 of 51), with Simniok hitting 8 of 11 from the field and Adams making six of his eight shots. Hall finished with nine points after going 9-for-9 at the line, part of the Panthers' collective 28 of 33 shooting effort on free throws (85 percent).
Tyler Friedel finished with 14 points to lead Tech, ranked No. 9 nationally in the Basketball Times D-II preseason national poll and a 25-6 finisher last season, when the Wonder Boys reached the NCAA-II Sweet 16.
The Panthers are now idle til Saturday, when they will play host to Central Christian in a 2 p.m. tipoff at The O'.
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