SPRINGFIELD, MO. – Drury's Tevin Foster hit two free throws with 9.8 seconds to play to give the host and No. 15 ranked Panthers a 69-68 win over the University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team Thursday night in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener.
 
The Tritons had a chance at a game-winning bucket, but the lay in by junior D.J. White did not fall in the closing seconds.
 
White had just connected on two free throws with 17.2 seconds to play to give UMSL a 68-67 lead.
 
UMSL falls to 4-4 overall, while Drury improves to 6-0, with all six games played at home.
 
Despite the loss, the Tritons overcame a 13-0 deficit to start the game and used a 13-0 run late in the second half to erase a 12-point deficit.
 
The Panthers, which led 44-39 at the half, equaled their largest lead of the second half at 58-46 with 11:59 to go. But junior Elijah Watson connected on a three-pointer to ignite 13 unanswered points over the next six minutes, which was capped by freshman Kobe Wands' three-pointer that gave UMSL its first lead of the game at 59-58.
 
Wands knocked in his fourth long ball of the game at the 2:34 mark for a 66-62 Tritons advantage, but Drury answered right back with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws to retake the lead with 44 seconds to play.
 
Watson scored a season-best 18 points, while White and Wands finished with 12 each. Watson added four assists and three steals.
 
UMSL shot 43.4 percent, including 56.6 percent in the first half, while Drury shot 48.2 percent. Both teams pulled down 32 rebounds, including nine on the offensive end. Senior Hunter Reine pulled down nine boards
 
UMSL travels to Missouri S&T on Saturday at 3 p.m.