Tech, who is ranked 13th in the Preseason NABC/Division II Coaches’ Poll, was held without a field goal over the final nine minutes of the contest as the Panthers outscored used a 23-5 scoring run over that span to post the victory and snap Tech’s 14-game winning streak in regular season non-conference contests. Prior to Wednesday, Tech’s last regular season non-conference loss came at home against North Alabama, 67-61 on Jan. 5, 2009.
“We struggled offensively over the final nine minutes of the game and we fouled too much and put them (Drury) on the free throw line,” Wonder Boys first-year head coach Doug Karleskint said. “They made plays down the stretch and we didn’t.”
Wednesday’s game would be classified as a beauty as both teams combined to commit 49 turnovers, shoot a combined 62 free throws and have 58 fouls called between the two teams. Drury finished the game with 27 turnovers and Tech committed 22.
Tech finished the game with three players fouling out as the Wonder Boys committed 34 fouls, including 20 in the second half. The 20 fouls allowed the Panthers to shoot 28 free throws in the second half and 40 for the game. Drury finished 31-for-40 from the line, while Tech was 13-for-22 at the line on the night.
After scoring the final seven points of the first half to tie the game at 42 at the half, the Wonder Boys took its first lead of the game just eight seconds into the second half on a lay-up by senior guard Laithe Massey (Heber Springs, Ark.). Tech’s lead would grow to 46-42 just 41 seconds later on a lay-up by senior forward James Causey (Tangipahoa, La.), before Drury used a 15-6 run over the next six minutes to pull out to a 57-52 advantage. Causey finished the game with 13 points and six rebounds before fouling out late in the contest.
Tech, though, responded with a 12-3 run capped by a lay-up by junior guard Johnie Davis (Canton, Ohio) with 10:14 left in the game to push in front 64-60. Davis, who scored 22 points in Monday’s opener against Ozark Christian, was held to three points on Wednesday. From that point, Drury tied the game on a lay-up by Brandon Lockhart and two Alex Hall free throws, before Causey drilled a three-pointer with 9:06 left in the contest to give the Wonder Boys its final lead of the game at 67-64.
The Panthers answered Causey’s trey with a 13-3 run over the next five minutes to extend its lead to 80-70 after a lay-up by Hall. After a free throw by Massey pulled Tech within 80-71, the Panthers closed out the game hitting seven of eight free throws to set the score.
In the first half, Drury, who was first among teams receiving votes in the Preseason NABC/Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, jumped out to a 19-11 lead just eight minutes into the game, before Tech used a 12-6 run to pull within 26-23 after a basket from senior center James Giles (New Brunswick, NJ) with 8:01 left in the half. Following Tech’s run, the Panthers answered with an 8-2 spurt to push in front 34-25 after a basket from Hall with 4:35 left. Tech, though, used an 8-1 run capped by a basket from senior guard Jeremy Dunbar (Niceville, Fla.) to drop DU’s lead to 35-33 with 2:20 left.
That basket would be the only one of the night for Dunbar as DU held him to 1-of-10 shooting from the field and a 0-of-8 effort from the three-point line.
“We’re not going to win many games when Dunbar only scores two points and goes 1-for-10 from the field,” the Tech coach stated.
Without Dunbar’s offense, Tech turned to junior guard Jared Williamson (Russellville, Ark.). Williamson, who is a transfer from Arkansas Baptist, finished the game with a career-high 25 points, including scoring 13 of those points after halftime. Massey was the third Wonder Boy in double digits as he had 11 points and dished out eight assists.
Hall led the way for the Panthers as he scored 28 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Hall scored 17 of his points in the second half and finished 7-for-7 from the field and 11-for-13 from the foul line. Along with Hall, Lockhart added 22 points for the Panthers.
“We didn’t do a good job containing Hall, especially in the second half,” Karleskint added.
One area where Tech struggled on Wednesday was on the boards as Drury finished with a 42-28 advantage on the glass.
“We knew coming into the game that whoever was tougher was going to win the game and tonight Drury was the tougher team,” said Karleskint.
For the game, Tech shot 41 percent from the field, but just 19 percent (5-for-26) from the 3-point line, while Drury finished shooting 53 percent from the field and 38 percent from long distance.
The Wonder Boys will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 20 when they play host to Lambuth in a 6 p.m. contest at Tucker Coliseum.
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