Rockhurst fights off Panthers in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo.— Rockhurst fought off Drury for an 81-64 win over the Panthers at Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse on Saturday in Kansas City, Missouri.
 
The Hawks owned a 13-point lead early in the second half, but Drury rallied and twice pulled within four points of the lead, the latter of the two coming with 8:32 remaining following a three-pointer by Preston Cook. Rockhurst responded, though, with an 8-2 run over the next five minutes to put the game out of reach.
 
“It’s kind of been the story of our year so far – we fight back to get to within four, then have compounding mistakes on both sides of the ball and they were able to get that separation,” said Drury head coach Chris Foster. “When you battle back to get to within four, that’s your opportunity. But those mistakes, whether it was not valuing possessions or letting them get around the rim, let them get it back to a 10 or an 11-point lead and that’s when it gets really hard to get back in it.”
 
Hawks forward Timaris Brown had a double-double with a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jake Auer added 15 points and Davit Kakushadze contributed 14.
 
Drury’s Logan Applegate had 18 points and Adam Moore put in 14.
 
Rockhurst shot 51 percent, hitting 27 of 53 shots while holding Drury to 36 percent as the Panthers made 21 of 58 attempts. The Hawks also sank 18 of their 22 free throws and out-rebounded Drury 42-27.
 
The Panthers play their third-straight road game on Thursday night when they take on Missouri S&T in Rolla at 7:30 pm.
 
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