MADISON, N.J. (Jan. 25, 2017) – What began as a tight, defensive battle ended in The University of Scranton's favor as they pulled away from the Drew University men's basketball team in the second half and won Wednesday night's Landmark Conference contest, 64-39, in Baldwin Gymnasium.
By the Numbers: Scranton notched its fifth Landmark win and propelled itself into the upper echelon of the conference. Also winning Wednesday evening was Moravian College, who joins Scranton, Suquehanna and Catholic atop the conference leaderboard. Drew, meanwhile, sits firmly in fifth place, currently out of playoff standing. Drew's overall record stands at 9-9 and its conference record at 3-4. Drew is now 6-3 at home and Scranton is 4-4 on the road.
Top Performers
• Sophomore center
Nate Aldrich logged 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting, he also snagged nine rebounds.
• Junior guard
Yonathan Napoleon dropped eight points, adding six rebounds.
Turning Point: Scoring was at a minimum in the opening half, with the teams going to break at a 26-21 score. Scranton exploded out of the locker rooms and into an immediate 12-2 run to set the tone for the second half. The Royals built a lead that would take them to the final buzzer.
Highlights
• The opening half of the contest was equal parts even matched and low-scoring. The teams, whether by design or circumstance, placed a premium on defense. Drew's defensive highlights included a pair of emphatic Aldrich blocks on a misguided baby hook and ill-advised floater. Scranton retaliated, however, with a pair of blocks of its own. Aldrich matched his first half performance with two more second-half swats.
• Napoleon had an impressive flurry of contributions in the middle of the first half. He grabbed two rebounds and drained two shots within two minutes to the keep the positive energy going for Drew as well as keep the score (20-15 at the 6:01 mark) close.
Stat Sheet
• The Royals outshot Drew, posting a 42 percent clip to the Rangers' 29 percent.
• Scranton doubled Drew's steals total, 12-6 as well as their points in the paint, 32-16. They also registered eight more rebounds.
• The Rangers hoisted up 18 three-pointers, only to see four land.
Up Next: It's all conference action the rest of the way and Drew's next task will be traveling to Towson, Md. to take on Goucher College at 4:00 p.m. The Gophers currently sit at the bottom of the conference standings.
