WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 3, 2016) – The Drew University men's basketball team had a chance to win or tie with two seconds left, but fell one jumper shy in an 84-81 loss at The Catholic University of America in the 2016-17 Landmark Conference opener on Saturday.
 
By the Numbers: Catholic prevailed to remain undefeated at 4-0 in a game with nine tie scores and 14 lead changes. Drew drops its record to 2-3.
 
Top Performers: Freshman guard Riley Collins takes over the team lead in scoring with 22 points on Saturday, a career-high and second straight performance with 20-plus. The Ranger rookie shot 8-of-12 overall and 4-of-6 from three, while adding five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Sophomore guard Darius Reiter also sets a new career-high with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and four 3-pointers to go with three assists. Sophomore Nate Aldrich and senior guard Joey Feinberg were two of four Rangers in double-figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
Turning Point: The Rangers led 81-77 with 1:44 to play following back-to-back jumpers in the paint by Aldrich. Catholic came storming back, as they did multiple times on Saturday, to lead 83-81 after a clutch 3-pointer, a missed Drew 3-pointer and 1-of-2 from the free throw line. Drew had an opportunity to tie or win at the buzzer, but the shot clanged off the rim and into the hands of the Cardinals with one seconds still remaining. They added one more free throw before the clock ended an exciting, back-and-forth Landmark contest.
 
Highlights
• The frenetic pace was set early on with four lead changes in the opening five minutes. Catholic, however, got the upper hand with a 7-0 run and a 22-13 lead at the 11:13 mark of the first half.
• Collins bookended an 8-0 run by Drew with a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper as the Rangers immediate erased Catholic's advantage for the time being. The Cardinals didn't let up and used an 11-0 run to lead 42-30 with 2:53 remaining in the opening half. Drew responded with Feinberg's three-point play, which started another 8-0 run. Catholic took a 44-40 lead into the intermission.
• The halftime break was productive for Drew, who came storming out of the locker room with an 8-0 run to start the half on five points by Reiter and a three-point play from junior guard Yonathan Napoleon. The lead stretched as large as 51-26 with 17:23 remaining thanks to another Reiter triple.
• The lead changed hands four times over the next seven minutes until Drew held a slim advantage until the 4:58 mark, when Catholic went up by one, 75-74.
 
Stat Sheet
• The Rangers shot 57% from the field and made 10-of-22 from beyond the arc. Catholic countered with a 49% mark overall and a 27-of-34 (79%) grade from the free throw line.
• Pre-season All-American Jay Howard scored 24 points, aided by 16-of-24 made from the charity stripe. Louis Khouri led all scorers with 27 points on 6-of-8 shooting – all from three-point distance – and a 9-of-10 performance at the free throw line.
• Rebounds were even at 29-29, but Drew outscored Catholic in the paint, 36-24. Catholic relied heavily on its starting five, only scoring four bench points, while Drew collected 28 points from their bench.
 
Up Next: The Rangers take the short trip across the street for the Battle of Madison Avenue on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 8:00 p.m. at FDU-Florham.