MADISON, N.J. (December 8, 2015) – In a grueling encounter that saw the Drew University men's basketball team (3-4, 2-0) and FDU-Florham (3-5, 1-1) trade leads with just minutes to go, and saw a capacity Baldwin Gym's rafters shake, the Rangers fell, 65-63, on Tuesday evening. Drew falls to 3-4 on the season while the Devils improved to 3-5.
 
Freshman forward Nate Aldrich's career-high 20 rebounds were the sixth most in Ranger history. Aldrich also netted 16 points on eight of 15 shooting and has now logged double-digit point totals in his last three games while notching his third double-double. Senior guard Kevin Herring II joined Aldrich atop the scoring leaders with 16, including the go-ahead 3-pointer at the 2:30 mark. Freshman guard Joey Feinberg added 10 points, six rebounds, and intangibly strong defense.
 
Seconds remained in a contest that saw FDU miss five out of six free throws in the closing two minutes. After the last two they'd take, Drew stormed up the court with 10 seconds to make something happen. They found sophomore guard Yonathan Napoleon, who tried a clean look from deep that just missed, back rim. Aldrich was there with his 20^th rebound, he then tried the fade-away that had been falling, but with too much traffic. That one missed too as the buzzer sounded.
 
With eight minutes to go, the Rangers initiated an 8-0 run that prompted a loaded Baldwin Gym to send shockwaves through the floor. Senior guard Brian McLaughlin and freshman forward Brian Oehme traded 3-pointers, each one raising the intensity. Sophomore forward Blaine Taylor then tapped one in off the glass that prompted yet another eruption from the crowd and a timeout from the Devils.
 
The offensive burst narrowed the deficit to four, 58-54, FDU, and encouraged tenacious defense on the other end. Particularly from Feinberg, who lunged for a strip, knocked it free from the Devil point guard, and straight up dove for the loose ball, winning the jump for the Rangers.
 
Two minutes later Feinberg stole another one. And on a possession that soon followed, charged hard into the paint, drawing in Devils, he then spit it to Herring in the corner, who knocked down 3 and gave Drew its first lead of the contest. 63-61, Drew, with 1:30 to go.
 
With an electric energy on the floor, the teams began vying for higher 3-point totals. FDU held that advantage from the outset and had firm control of a double-digit lead. 
 
With 3's hard to come by, the Rangers went to their forwards in close. Aldrich went to work in the post, using a combination of hook shots and fade-aways to keep Drew within range. Aldrich had accumulated eight points by the half that way.
 
The Rangers entered the half trailing 36-24.
 
The first Drew basket of the second half came when Herring II tried a 3 from the top of the key that bounced back, he then burst into the zone off an offensive rebound and took it to the hole. He got the and-one free throw as well and got his 3-pointer the old fashioned way.
 
The Rangers showed signs of improvement out of the half. They were chirping and challenging the Devils into mistakes, and capitalizing. When FDU turned the ball over, the Rangers answered on the fastbreak. Feinberg tore down the court with 13 minutes to go in the second half. He used a 2-on-1 disadvantage to convert a tricky layup from an odd angle, and pick up the foul.
 
Drew held a constant advantage from the foul line, especially late game. FDU made only five on 17 attempts while Drew sank 11 of 13, eight of which came from Feinberg. Drew's missed shots weren't as devastating as they could've been, as they corralled 18 offensive boards to FDU's six, half of which came from Aldrich. Overall, the rangers grabbed 55 rebounds, fourth most in a single game in program history.
 
The Rangers get one more home game before a 3-game road trip. The non-conference battle with Wilkes University takes place on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7:00 p.m.