Alex Hall scored 15 points to lead four Panthers in double-figures as Drury rolled to a 94-39 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over Rockhurst before an arena-record crowd of 2,907 at the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
Brandon Lockhart had 13 points and Kameron Bundy and Ben Fisher contributed 11 each as the Panthers moved to 15-4 overall and 9-2 in the GLVC with their seventh consecutive victory, further solidifying their grip on first place in the West Division.
Rockhurst, which had won last weekend at Quincy and Illinois-Springfield, fell to 3-15 and 2-9.
The Panthers were clinging to a 16-14 lead with just over seven minutes left in the half before exploding on a 17-3 run the remainder of the half to take a 33-17 advantage into the break. Five players contributed in the scoring in the surge, including six points from Teddy Simniok.
Drury opened the second half with a 20-4 run over the first eight-plus minutes to build a 53-21 cushion and leave no doubt about the outcome, their lead growing as high as 55 points on three occasions in handing the Hawks the worst loss in the series' 105-game history.
Drury now leads the all-time series with Rockhurst 61-44 with its fourth straight win over the Hawks, all to the delight to the largest home crowd ever to watch a Drury basketball game as part of the second annual "Overflow The O'" promotion. The 2,907 eclipsed last year's previous mark of 2,803 in the same promotion.
"I know a lot of people in the Drury administration worked very hard to create this great atmosphere and to get a full house here tonight, and we really appreciate that," Drury coachSteve Hesser said. "They gave us a lot of energy early and we were able to finish the half strong and do what we needed to, which was take care of business at home."
Fisher fed their frenzy late in the game, scoring his career-high 11 points in just 17 minutes, hitting three 3-pointers. Drury went 11-for-24 from behind the arc for the contest, with Lockhart making three and Shane Rudman and Derek Daniels nailing their only attempts. Lockhart also had a team-high four steals and no turnovers in his 25 minutes of court time.
Drury also claimed a 42-30 advantage in rebounding, with six each from Ian Carter, Simniok and Bundy, a career-high for the latter.
Hall, who hit only one trey to push his career total now to 320 (31 behind all-time DU leader Matt Miller), had five of the Panthers' 23 assists, as did Lonnie Boga.
The Panthers committed a season-low seven turnovers and hit 53 percent of their shots (35 of 66), including 21 of 32 in the second half (66 percent).
Cooper Beckett had 11 points to lead Rockhurst, which shot just 28 percent (15 of 54) and had 19 turnovers against the Panthers' pressure.
The Panthers will continue their three-game homestand with key West Division games next week against Missouri-St. Louis on Thursday night ("Pink Zone" for Breast Cancer Awareness Night) and Saturday afternoon against second-place Maryville on Saturday afternoon (Homecoming).
"We've got a big week coming up," Hesser says. "It's not a time to slap yourself on the back, but it's a time to appreciative what you have ... we have an opportunity, but we've got to continue to get better."
It was a tough weekend for our local teams in Blue Springs.
Both Springfield Catholic and Nixa went 0-for-2 on the weekend, forcing them to settle for fourth place in Class 3 and Class 1 respectively.
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In the aftermath of Drury's run to the National Championship, a common topic has arisen in the area.
In a one game scenario, could the Panthers beat Missouri State?
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Just 16 days ago Nyla Milleson was let go as the head coach of the Lady Bears.
Missouri State President Clif Smart and Athletic Director Kyle Moats both took turns citing a laundry list of reasons, both on and off the court, as to why the...
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