Panthers end season with overtime thriller over Lewis

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— On the final day of the season for both teams, the Drury Panthers and Lewis Flyers, for the second time this season, needed extra minutes to settle the outcome.
 
And just like their earlier meeting in January when the Panthers claimed a 79-78 overtime win on the road, one point at home in the O’Reilly Family Event Center on Saturday afternoon in overtime was enough once again, with Drury claiming a 78-77 decision over the Flyers.
 
With less than two seconds to play in overtime, the Panthers inbounded the ball under their own basket and a lob pass to junior Riley Naeger found its way through net, giving Drury the win and closing their season a 9-19 and 5-15 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
 
“Just happy for the guys, they’ve really stuck with it, so it’s good to see them end it with a winning number one, but also in such an exciting way, that’s really special,” said Drury head coach Chris Foster.
 
The Panthers forced the overtime period when they outscored Lewis 11 to four over the final four and a half minutes of regulation, with Naeger pouring in the final seven points, including a three-point bank shot with 23 seconds to play to end regulation at 68 apiece.
 
For the second game in a row, graduate student Preston Cook paced the Panther scoring.  Following a season-best 26-point effort on Thursday night against Illinois-Springfield, Cook poured in 25 points to conclude his brief one-year stint with the program.
 
“He’s meant a lot to us,” said Foster.  “He’s done a good job of holding us together through some adverse times and what a final week he had on the floor; it’s so good to see him finish on a high note.”
 
Naeger would finish with 15 points as did freshman Logan Applegate for the Panthers, while junior Quenton Shelton chipped in 13.
 
The Flyers got a 22-point effort from Beau Frericks as they conclude their season at 8-20 and 3-17 in the GLVC.
 
 
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