SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Truman State men's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow start, falling 80-70 to Drury on Saturday afternoon at the O'Reilly Family Event Center. The Bulldogs dropped to 9-13 overall and 6-8 in conference play, while the Panthers improved to 12-11 (7-8).
Drury came out firing and never looked back, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes. Luke Stubbs opened the scoring with a three-pointer at 19:46, assisted by Colin Hardrick. Kevin Sargeant followed with a floating jumper at 19:00, and Stubbs added another pull-up jumper at 17:27 to make it 7-0. After Hardrick made two free throws at 16:30, Truman finally got on the board when Jahki Parrinello made the first of two free throws at 16:03 to make it 9-1.
The Panthers continued to build their lead throughout the first half. After Kingery's layup at 14:29 cut it to 13-3, Drury pushed the advantage to 16-3 when Thomas made a free throw at 14:19 following a three-point play.
Truman showed signs of life with an 8-2 run to get back in the game. Byrd made two free throws at 13:59 to start the spurt, followed by Carver-Smith's two free throws at 13:26 to make it 16-7. Carver-Smith then added a tip-in layup at 12:06, and Lovette's driving layup at 10:49 cut the deficit to 18-13. Parrinello's two free throws at 10:11 brought Truman within three at 18-15.
However, the Bulldogs couldn't sustain the momentum as Drury closed the half on a 23-14 run to take a 41-29 halftime lead. The Panthers' run was capped by Stubbs' three-pointer at the buzzer, assisted by Howell.
The second half saw Truman make several pushes to get back in the game. After falling behind 54-36 following Hardrick's three-point play at 11:21, the Bulldogs responded with an 8-2 run. Kingery hit a three-pointer at 10:57, assisted by Byers, to make it 54-39. After Byrd made two free throws at 9:48 to cut it to 54-41, Howell answered with a driving layup at 9:24 to push it back to 56-41. Kingery then hit another three-pointer at 9:16, assisted by Miller, to make it 56-44.
Drew Kingery led the charge for Truman's comeback attempt, hitting consecutive three-pointers to trim the deficit. His three-pointer at 9:16, assisted by Titus Miller, made it 56-44, and another at 4:41, assisted by Parrinello, cut it to 66-56. After Kingery's layup at 4:12, also assisted by Parrinello, brought Truman within 66-58, the Bulldogs had their best chance.
However, Drury had an answer each time. The Panthers maintained their double-digit lead for most of the second half behind balanced scoring. When Truman cut it to 68-58 on Kingery's layup with 4:12 remaining, Thomas responded with a floating jumper at 3:23 to make it 68-58. After McCafferty's three-pointer at 2:53 cut it to 68-61, Howell answered with a three-point play at 2:41 to push it back to 71-61.
Truman got as close as seven points when Parrinello scored a fast-break layup at 1:19 to make it 74-66, but the Panthers were able to close out the game from the free-throw line.
Kingery led all scorers with 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three-point range. Parrinello added 16 points but struggled from the field, going 5-of-13. Byrd contributed 13 points and went 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
For Drury, three players scored in double figures, led by Hardrick's 19 points, Thomas' 19 points, and Howell's 18 points.
Team Statistics Comparison
| Category |
Truman State |
Drury |
| Field Goals |
22-55 (40.0%) |
26-54 (48.1%) |
| 3-Point FG |
5-18 (27.8%) |
6-15 (40.0%) |
| Free Throws |
21-26 (80.8%) |
22-31 (71.0%) |
| Rebounds |
38 |
32 |
| Assists |
7 |
16 |
| Turnovers |
14 |
13 |
| Steals |
9 |
10 |
| Blocks |
2 |
3 |
| Points in Paint |
32 |
38 |
| Fast Break Points |
9 |
9 |
| Second Chance Points |
15 |
16 |
| Points off Turnovers |
9 |
13 |
| Bench Points |
11 |
3 |
Truman State Statistical Leaders
Points
Rebounds
Assists
Steals
Blocks
Up Next: The Bulldogs will play the second game of the year against Missouri S&T on Thursday at 7:30 PM in Pershing Arena as part of Military/First Responders Appreciation Day.
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