ATLANTA, GA – The Drury (Mo.) Panthers battled back from a seventeen-point deficit to win their 23rd straight game and the Division II Men’s National Championship, defeating the Metro State (Co.) Roadrunners 74-73.
Drury closed the game on a 7-0 run, capped by Alex Hall’s two free throws with 22.8 seconds, and then managed to hold off the Roadrunners’ desperation efforts in the final seconds.
Hall led the way for the Panthers with 21 points and 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc. Brandon Lockhart added fourteen points and nine assists, and Drake Paterson knocked-down four of his six three-point attempts.
All five of Metro State’s starters scored in double figures. They were led by Brandon Jefferson’s nineteen points. The Roadrunners also managed to come up with a staggering seventeen steals, but ultimately that was not enough.
John Sadak and Perry Clark called the action on Westwood One Sports.