ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Missouri-St. Louis put Drury in an early hole, and the Panthers never recovered as the Tritons advanced to the Great Lakes Valley Conference quarterfinals with a 96-63 win in the opening round of the league tournament on Monday in St. Louis.
UMSL burst to an 18-2 start in the game’s first eight minutes and claimed a 50-18 lead at halftime. Drury was just 6 of 28 from the field in the first and connected on 2 of 16 three-point attempts, while the Tritons hit 19 of their 36 shots in the first 20 minutes while scoring on 10 of their 20 three-point tries.
Drury fared better in the second half, putting up 45 points after halftime, and was only outscored by one.
Victor Nwagbarachoa ended his Drury career with a double-double scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The senior from Milwaukee added four blocked shots in a steal.
Obi Okafor, returning two days after suffering a leg injury on Saturday, added 12 points, five rebounds, and two steals, and Dillon Carlson posted 10 points.
Four UMSL players were in double-figures. Marty Jackson led the Tritons with a game-high 16 points and added nine rebounds, while Isaiah Fuller added 15 points.
Drury ended the game shooting 36 percent going 21 for 58 and 6 for 26 from three-point range. The Tritons shot 52 percent hitting 35 of 67 shots and UMSL was 17 for 32 from beyond the three-point line.
Missouri-St. Louis heads to the league quarterfinals with a 21-6 record, while Drury ended the season 10-16.
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