Ed Beach (Drury Sports Information) EVANSVILLE, Ind. – 17th-ranked Southern Indiana used a 14-0 run in the second half to take control of a one-point game and put away Drury, 77-51, on Saturday in Evansville, Indiana.
The Screaming Eagles improved to 21-2 and 11-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Drury dropped to 13-8 and 6-7 in the league.
Drury trailed 35-34 with 16:28 left in the game but the Screaming Eagles shut out the Panthers for nearly six minutes and Alex Stein’s free throws put Southern Indiana in front 49-35 to cap the 14 unanswered points.
The Panthers pulled as close as eight, but the Screaming Eagles ended the game with a flurry to outscore Drury 47-27 in the second half.
“We did some decent things. It’s the same song, different verse,” said Drury head coach Steve Hesser. “We win the first media timeout in the second half and then, the next two medias, we drove it into their size and tried to shoot it instead of passing it or we turned it over. That affected this bunch’s desire to compete on the defensive end.”
Jeril Taylor had a double-double for Southern Indiana scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Stein added 17 points as the Screaming Eagles won their sixth straight game.
John Williams led the Panthers with 12 points.
Drury’s 51 points in the game was a season low. The Panthers shot 31 percent from the field going 17 for 54. The shooting percentage and field goals made were also season lows. The loss is the Panthers’ fourth straight and is their longest such streak since the 2011-12 season.
Drury is back on their home court this Thursday hosting McKendree. Tipoff is 7:45 p.m. at the O’Reilly Family Event Center. Tickets are available by calling 417-873-6389.
