MADISON, N.J. (Jan. 21, 2017) – Despite efficient shooting throughout and an 11-0 run to start the game, the Drew University men's basketball team was edged by No. 14 Susquehanna University, 81-75, in a Landmark Conference contest on Saturday afternoon in Baldwin Gymnasium.
 
By the Numbers: With the win, Susquehanna continues its ascension to the top of the Landmark standings and now sit comfortably in second place with a 5-1 conference record. They are also 15-2 overall. The Rangers fall to 3-3 in the conference, 9-8 overall, and sit at fifth place. Drew is now 6-2 at home, while Susquehanna is undefeated at 6-0 while visiting.
 
Top Performers
• Freshman guard Riley Collins dropped 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting on the strength of six 3-pointers.
• Junior guard Yonathan Napoleon assisted on five baskets, grabbed four boards and totaled eight points.
• Sophomore center Nate Aldrich and junior forward Blaine Taylor rose to the challenge of matching up with Susquehanna's size. Aldrich dragged down seven rebounds and blocked a shot while putting up 14 points (6-of-9). Taylor swatted two River Hawk attempts while adding eight points and three rebounds.
 
Turning Point: The see-saw contest with five ties and seven lead changes saw its last draw with 4:09 to play at 65-all. From there, Susquehanna made its next three shots from the field to maintain a slim advantage. In an attempt to salvage the contest, Drew began fouling Susquehanna's poorest free throw shooter. The hacking victim (Jason Dietrich) had, up until this point, shot 38 percent from the line. He promptly hit 6-of-6 to clinch the victory.

Highlights
• Collins kicked things off immediately when he drained a deep trey to open the scoring, and on the next possession he hit another. Next up was Napoleon who sank the first triple he took, then delivered a dime the very next time down. The work from those guards injected adrenaline into the team and home crowd, forced an early timeout from Susquehanna, and led to an 11-0 run to start the game.
• Sophomore guard Dan Robial, once inserted into the game, quickly made his presence felt. Most notably when he went up and aggressively snatched an offensive board over two, larger River Hawks, only to go back up and finish put back plus the foul. That play gave Drew a 28-22 lead with six minutes to go in the first half.
• Susquehanna gave Drew all it could handle toward the end of the first half, wiping out the 11-0 run the Rangers opened with. The pace of play in the second half, meanwhile, turned much more calculated, and instead of daringly deep 3's, both the Rangers and the River Hawks opted for inside gameplay, consisting of back door cuts, and pick and rolls. The beneficiaries of this style included Ranger bigs Aldrich and Taylor, who contributed frequently with mid-range 2's.
 
Stat Sheet
• Drew was outmatched decisively on the offensive boards, as Susquehanna grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to Drew's 7. Overall the rebounding battle went to the Hawks, 44-31.
• The Rangers outshot the River Hawks from the field with a 47 percent clip to their 43, but the difference was in free throw shooting where Susquehanna held a distinct advantage, sinking 21-of-29 from the charity stripe to Drew's 9-of-14.
• The Rangers outside game thrived while the inside game of the River Hawks was their key to success. Drew nailed 10 three-pointers on 23 tries and their opponent made 40 points from inside the paint.
 
Up Next: The final stretch of conference games rolls on when the Rangers host The University of Scranton, with whom they are jostling for position in the standings. The tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 25 in Baldwin Gymnasium.