Bulger's 21 Helps Rangers Prevail in 3 OT's
Box Score
MADISON, N.J. (January 28, 2011) - After 55 minutes of basketball in Baldwin Gymnasium this evening it was the Rangers who won the longest game in Drew basketball history, 99-96. Junior
Dylan Bulger (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Academy) had a career night notching, his third double-double of the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
After a see-saw first half, Moravian (9-10, 3-5 Landmark) took control of the game in the second half. The Greyhounds seized momentum at the end of the first with a three pointer by D.J. Strayhorn with two seconds left giving them a three point advantage heading to the locker room. A lead they would not give up the entire final 20 minutes of regulation.
Drew (10-9, 5-3 Landmark) would tie the game twice in the second half but kept Moravian within striking distance for the majority of the period. Trailing by eight with 7:30 left in regulation,
Kyle Joyce (Hanover, Mass./Xavieran Brothers) nailed back-to-back threes and
Terrell Brown (Camden, N.J./Woodrow Wilson) made a layup for the first tie.
The Rangers would hang around and erase another seven point deficit in the closing minutes. Bulger would come up big, nearly erasing the lead himself. Working in the post, he got the Rangers within two after converting on a layup and drawing the foul at the 1:34 mark making the score 71-69.
After the two teams exchanged turnovers,
Mike Mayes (Linden, N.J./St. Mary's) was fouled in the act giving Drew a chance to tie. Mayes missed both with 34 seconds on the clock but Brown came up with perhaps the biggest rebound of the night. He was able to get the ball to
Asmar Capers (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) who was fouled on the floor and with the Rangers in the bonus, get two more cracks at tying the game.
Capers, clutch all night going 10-for-10 from the charity stripe, knocked down both with 24 seconds to go. Moravian's Strayhorn who had 19 points on the night, had a last second shot rim out forcing overtime.
Drew would get the lead in each of the first three overtimes but could not sustain a lead in the first two. After six-straight Greyhound points in the first OT, Capers drilled a three from the near wing to tie the game at 78 with 1:39 remaining. The score would stay tied but Moravian had its best shot at a win when Garret Johnson missed a contested layup as time expired.
In the second overtime, Drew built another four point lead only to have it nullified on the final shot of the period. Johnson would redeem himself, getting the old fashioned three-point play with 42 seconds left to bring the Greyhounds within one. Bulger would respond with another tough bucket in the lane to put Drew up 87-84 but Johnson did one better. The sophmore, Johnson, would get the ball on the far wing and hit a leaning three pointer with two seconds left to force overtime number three.
The Rangers would squander one more four-point lead in the final overtime but Bulger would make sure that Drew would remain in second place in the Landmark Conference. He would find Capers who hit a jumper to put the Rangers up 97-95 to ice the game. Up by one with 13 seconds to play Bulger snagged the rebound of the second missed free throw and went to the line for two shots. Bulger, already 3-for-3 on the day from the line, knocked down both making the score 99-96. A last ditch effort by Johnson with two seconds on the clock hit iron as time expired.
The game goes down as the longest game in Drew basketball history and the Rangers improve to 3-0 in overtime games this season. Capers finished with a game-high 29 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
Drew will have to recover quickly as they welcome the first-place Scranton Royals tomorrow afternoon at 4:00. The Royals lost their first game of the season tonight to Merchant Marine, 86-66.
