MADISON, N.J. (Jan. 3, 2015) – Sparked by a 23 percent difference in shooting from the floor, the Drew University men's basketball team zipped by Juniata College, 79-52, on Saturday evening at Baldwin Gymnasium to improve to 3-0 in the Landmark Conference.
 
Junior guard Mike Klinger notched 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting, four rebounds, and four assists. Junior guard Ozan Yucetepe added 14 points on an efficient 50 percent shooting mark. Finally, with a perfect shooting percentage, junior center Kevin-Michael Miller added 14 points (7-of-7), seven rebounds and four blocks.
 
Coming off a gritty, 78-74 loss to No. 15 Amherst College on Tuesday, head coach Darryl Keckler saw the intensity brought by the Rangers against that nationally ranked team translate well into Saturday's ever-important conference clask.

"The Amherst game helped gather our focus," Keckler said. "We walked away upset at the loss, but not because Amherst was better than us. That thinking triggered their mindsets that they can really do something special if they play focused and bring that intensity every game. They got excited that they belong in that national conversation when they play their game. We had to be disciplined and tough against a Juniata team that sets the bar high in those areas."

The Rangers (7-4, 3-0) exploded off the tip and into a 10-0 run to open the game. Leading the charge figuratively and literally was Yucetepe. The 6-foot-8 guard used his height to snag defensive rebounds and his deceptive, galloping speed to lead the break. He dished crisp bounce passes that found Miller for easy two-point buckets. 
 
Juniata (5-6, 0-3) managed to flip the momentum in their favor and quickly brought the game back into control. Complemented by a challenging three-pointer that also earned a foul, the Eagles brought the score to 17-15 on the strength of three 3-pointers.
 
Before long Juniata had grabbed a temporary lead but Yucetepe promptly drained an open trey. The Eagle defenders, perhaps underestimating Yucetepe's ability from deep range, let him have that basket with little resistance.
 
Junior forward Jason Huelbig was contributing in varied forms. He established the danger of his three-point shot early, which drew the defense in when he corralled the ball in the corner. He faked a pass, losing the defender, then tiptoed the baseline and took off skyward for a layup and the foul. One Klinger three-pointer later, and Drew was back to a comfortable eight-point lead with fewer than four minutes remaining in the first half.
 
Meanwhile Miller and Yucetepe were up to their own tricks. Yucetepe sank another deep three from the top of the arch and let go a primal "hey!" as he got back on defense. On the ensuing possession, he wrestled down another rebound and pirouetted into graceful up-court strides. He then found Miller under the basket, who wiggled around for a good angle, he found it and the basket. Miller would enter halftime with 12 points and a perfect shooting percentage.
 
The Rangers ended the half where they began it, up 10 with the score at 38-28.
 
Drew continued their gradual, driving attack towards Juniata and by the time 10 minutes remained in the game, their lead had grown to 18. On the rare chance that Juniata found itself with an open shot, they missed.
 
The Rangers were lead by a core of four players including Miller, Klinger, Huelbig, and Yucetepe. Until 10 minutes remaining in the game, they were the only ones to score. The streak was broken by a triple from junior guard Brian McLaughlin.
 
With six and a half minutes to play, junior guard Kevin Herring II got in on the action. He took a steal on a fast break, leapt, eluding a defender in midair and laid in his first two points.
 
By this point Drew had extended their lead to an unreachable point and they coasted to the end of the game with some hard-working substitutes holding the lead with some offensive of their own and solid defense.
 
The Rangers snapped a two game losing skid and improved to 3-0 in conference play. They will look to make it 4-0 when they travel to Scranton, Pennsylvania to take on No. 16 The University of Scranton on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 7:00 p.m.