SELINSGROVE, Pa. (Jan. 17, 2015) – A second half featuring a 14-0 Susquehanna University run to open the second half presented the Drew University men's basketball team with an insurmountable deficit as it dropped a Landmark Conference game to the Crusaders by a score of 80-61 on Saturday evening.
 
Senior guard Robby Bier set a new career high with 15 points. He was the only Ranger in double digits, marking only the first time this season that no starter finished with a double-digit point total.
 
Drew (8-8, 4-4) yielded another astronomical scoring output this afternoon as Susquehanna shot field goals at 53-percent en route to a 80-point scoring output. The small-in-stature Rangers lineup, featuring an absent junior center Kevin-Michael Miller and a start by senior guard Steve Hydzik, played free and well to begin the game. Without large bodies to confront attacking Crusaders (12-4, 5-2), the Rangers threw limbs at them. Kevin Herring II frolicked and blinded Susquehanna guards with his hands held high and legging-clad legs kicking up like a gymnast in a floor routine. Herring's defense was solid and he finished with seven rebounds. Meanwhile, the Rangers' floor routine was packed with energy and appeared fresh and new.
 
Hydzik, playing the role of a quasi-small forward as he surveyed the floor, looked at the rim, and hit an effortless three-pointer with 3:18 to go in the first half. On the ensuing possession, 6-foot-8 junior forward Ozan Yucetepe channeled his inner guard with a swift no look pass to junior forward Jason Huelbig, who dropped in a two.
 
Susquehanna showed why they entered the contest in third place in the conference. At 4:30 in the first half, Kevin Herring II drove for the basket along the baseline and when halted by two fast-acting Crusaders, opted to loft a low-percentage one-handed floater towards the basket. The shot drifted off innocently without touching the rim and into the hands of a Crusader who led the charge back up court. Susquehanna accomplished what Herring II couldn't and dripped in a very similar baseline bucket of their own, complete with an and-one free throw.
 
Susquehanna managed to shut down Drew's guards in the half, limiting junior guards Herring II and Mike Klinger to 2-of-10 shooting combined. The guards would attempt only one more field goal combined for the rest of the game. Despite otherwise clean play from the Rangers, the Crusaders one-upped them offensively and headed into the half with a comfortable 41-32 lead.
 
Yucetepe, as the second half got underway, showcased every aspect of his versatile game. He wiggled into a crossover at the top of the key, backed down opposing big men, and violently wrangled defensive rebounds. Despite this, none of his first three field goals went in and the score stayed at 41-32 for the first three minutes of second half play.
 
Drew, in its previous bout with Elizabethtown College, fell victim to a stellar 64-percent field goal clip. Susquehanna was shooting at lower, yet equally harmful 55-percent when Drew succumbed to a careless desperation at the 15-minute mark of the second half. The Rangers surrendered four consecutive three pointers sandwiched between three turnovers and a sequence of missed shots. Six second-half minutes had elapsed and the Rangers had yet to score a basket. With their defense performing at a similar success-rate, a liquidation of starters occurred and a renewed collective took the hardwood.
 
A layup by sophomore forward Jonathan Allegrezza broke the six-minute scoreless streak but by this time Drew trailed 55-34 with less than 14 minutes remaining. Fast forward 11 minutes and the same deficit could be found on the scoreboard. Susquehanna had posted a 73-52 lead.
 
The Rangers will look to rebound as they open a three-game home stand with a non-conference tilt against Medgar Evers College on Monday, Jan. 19 at 3:00 p.m. in Baldwin Gymnasium.