Kirksville, Mo. — Truman State Men's Basketball delivered a strong start to GLVC play with a thrilling win over Drury on Thursday before falling to a hot-shooting Southwest Baptist squad on Saturday. The Bulldogs finished the weekend 1–1 and moved to 3–4 overall, 1–2 in conference play.
TRUMAN 86, DRURY 79 — THURSDAY
Truman earned its best offensive performance of the young season, defeating Drury 86–79 behind efficient perimeter shooting and a dominant closing stretch.
The Bulldogs opened with pace, pushing the ball through Jahki Parrinello and getting early threes from Julian Brown and Drew Kingery. Drury answered with physical interior play, but Truman's backcourt continued to set the tone, and the teams traded baskets throughout a tightly contested first half.
In the second half, Truman's offense found another gear. Ja'Vion Byers drilled a corner three to give the Bulldogs momentum, and Brown followed with a deep jumper to keep Truman in front. Every Drury surge was met with a counterpunch, including key plays such as Parrinello attacking downhill, Byrd finishing through contact, and Kingery spacing the floor with timely shooting.
The Bulldogs help the lead throughout much of the game, but Drury battled back to tie the game late in the second half. However, with the game tied 68–68 entering the final five minutes, Truman seized control and locked in during the clutch minutes. Parrinello scored twice at the rim, Kingery knocked down a free throw, and Brown and Byers combined to go 8-for-8 at the line in the final minute to secure the win. Truman held Drury to just two field goals over the final 75 seconds.
Five Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by Brown's 21 points and Kingery's hot night from deep. Truman shot over 50% from the field, hit six threes, and outscored Drury 22–21 at the free-throw line to close out the victory.
SOUTHWEST BAPTIST 76, TRUMAN 61 — SATURDAY
Truman could not replicate Thursday's second-half push, falling 76–61 to Southwest Baptist as the Bearcats caught fire after halftime.
The Bulldogs opened well, hitting seven first-half threes, including back to back from Brown and Kingery. Truman led 19–10 midway through the opening period and trailed only 33–29 at halftime.
However, SBU flipped the game in the first four minutes of the second half, hitting three straight threes during a decisive 14–0 run. The Bearcats shot 13-of-19 (68%) from the field and 6-of-10 from deep after the break, stretching the lead past 15 and maintaining control the rest of the way.
Kingery, Brown, and Parrinello each scored 11 points for Truman, while Byrd added eight points and Marquis Carver-Smith recorded seven points and five boards. Truman forced 17 turnovers and outscored SBU's bench 20–3, but the Bearcats' rebounding advantage (+15) and strong second-half shooting proved too much to overcome.
WEEKEND TEAM STATS
Shooting:
• FG — Truman 51.8% vs Drury; 36.1% vs SBU
• 3PT — 6 made vs Drury; 7 made vs SBU
• FT — 22-of-27 vs Drury; 10-of-14 vs SBU
Rebounding:
• Truman +3 vs Drury
• Truman –15 vs SBU
Turnovers:
• Forced 12 vs Drury
• Forced 17 vs SBU
WEEKEND BULLDOG LEADERS
Points:
• Parrinello — 10 (Drury), 11 (SBU)
• Brown — 21 (Drury), 11 (SBU)
• Kingery — 20 (Drury)
Rebounds:
• Byrd — 8 vs Drury, 2 vs SBU
• Carver-Smith — 5 vs SBU
Assists:
• Parrinello — 7 vs Drury
• Byrd — 2 vs Drury
• Brown — 3 combined
Steals / Defensive Impact:
• Lovette — key second-half stops vs Drury
• Byrd and Anderson — combined 3 steals vs SBU
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will continue their homestand in a rematch against Purdue Northwest on Wednesday at 3:00 PM. The Bulldogs dropped their earlier matchup against the Pride this season 73-64.
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