KINGS POINT, N.Y. (Feb. 3, 2016) – A sudden second-half scoring outburst from the United States Merchant Marine Academy proved insurmountable and resulted in a 71-49 final over the Drew University men's basketball team on Wednesday evening in Landmark Conference play.
 
Senior guard Mike Klinger paced the Rangers with a 10-point, two-assist effort. Sophomore forward Blaine Taylor netted eight points and pulled down five rebounds. Junior center Kevin-Michael Miller led the team with eight rebounds.
 
Before the evening's tilt, Drew (10-11, 7-5), found itself in the thick of the Landmark logjam that saw the top five teams all within one game of each other. Merchant Marine (11-8, 6-6), on the other hand was on the bubble looking to enter the mix and sitting at sixth place. Drew is still a game above Merchant Marine in the Landmark Conference standings with four games left to play.
 
The Rangers, following the opening tip, opened up a pair of seven-point leads within the first ten minutes using a collection of their patented 3-pointers. The Mariners consistent play, which largely included mid-range twos and foul drawing, exposed the inconsistency of the Rangers' outside shooting. A quick nine-point run from the Mariners led to their first lead of the game as they capitalized on Drew's brief lapse in shooting. To counter-attack, Drew subbed in freshman forward Darius Reiter who promptly drained a pair of 3-pointers that propelled Drew ahead of Merchant Marine once again. The scoreboard read 27-23, Drew with five minutes to go in the half thanks to Reiter's outside contributions. A Klinger two-pointer right before the buzzer sent the teams to halftime with Drew ahead by two.
 
The second half welcomed another lapse in Ranger scoring that allowed a window for the Mariners who used it to go ahead by five. The window remained open and suddenly the Mariners absolutely exploded into a 19-1 run that saw them open up a 20-point lead with 10 minutes to go. The Mariners' momentum commanding run took them all the way to the buzzer with the lead, granting them the victory.
 
With a jumper in the paint with 45 seconds to go, freshman forward Mamadou Traore registered the first two points of his collegiate career.
 
22 of the Mariners' points came off of Drew turnovers. The Rangers outrebounded Merchant Marine 42-37
 
With the Landmark Conference race pulling into the final stretch, the Rangers host their final home stand of the season -- a two-gamer that begins on Saturday, Feb. 6^th against first place Catholic University of America (14-5, 7-3). Fans are encouraged to arrive early for Senior Day, while the tip is slated for 2:00 p.m.