ST. LOUIS – The Drury men’s basketball team punched a ticket to the semifinal round of the 2011 GLVC Basketball Tournament on Friday afternoon by virtue of a 72-58 win over Lewis University in second round action at Moloney Arena. The No. 3 seed Panthers received 17 points from both Dennon Mitchell and Alex Hall (pictured) to top Lewis for the second time this season.
Drury (22-6) controlled much of the contest after gaining the lead midway through the first half. The Panthers, who benefitted from a pair of Alex Hall three-point buckets and a three-point play with under four to play, held off the Flyers late-game charge.
The Panthers will face No. 2 seed Southern Indiana in the first semifinal game on Saturday at Noon CT.
Hall finished 6-of-9 shooting and canned 4-of-7 from behind the arc, while Mitchell paced the Panthers to the early lead with 15 first-half points.
The Panthers shot 45.3 percent from the field on the day and was 7-of-20 from behind the three-point line. They outrebounded the Flyers, 34-24, and forced 17 turnovers.
Lewis (17-14) was led by Matt Togh who posted a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Toth helped the Flyers jump out to an early advantange and they built a five-point lead through the first eight minutes of the contest. Toth led the charge with 11 first-half points.
Mitchell helped the Panthers surge to a 10-point halftime lead at 34-24 by posting 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half. He canned three from behind the arc as the Panthers shot 50 percent from behind the line in the first half (5-10).
Trailing 19-14 at the 12:10 mark, Drury went on a 11-0 run over the next 8:26 to take a 25-19 lead with 4:16 to go in the half. The Panthers would extend the lead to ten at the break behind Mitchell’s third three of the half.
Second round action at the GLVC Tournament continues on Friday afternoon with No. 5 seed Kentucky Wesleyan and No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky squaring off at 2:30 p.m.
Saturday’s semifinal contests will be conducted at Noon and 2:30 p.m. CT.