TOWSON, Md. (Jan. 28, 2017) – The Drew University men's basketball team chipped away at a 12-point deficit, took its final lead with four minutes left and held on for a 64-60 win in a tight Landmark Conference contest at Goucher College on Saturday.
 
By the Numbers: The Rangers return to .500 in conference play at 4-4, while moving to 10-9 overall. Goucher falls to 4-15 and 1-7 in Landmark. Drew also improves its record away from Baldwin Gymnasium to .500 at 4-4.
 
Top Performers
• Sophomore center Nate Aldrich paced the Rangers on both ends of the court in a back-and-forth battle. Aldrich led all scorers with 17 points on efficient 8-of-14 shooting to go with a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Freshman guard Riley Collins bounced back with 16 points on the strength of four 3-pointers. The rookie also assisted on four baskets and grabbed four boards.
• Junior guard Yonathan Napoleon added 14 points, passed out six assists and made all six of his free throw attempts.
• Sophomore Chatham Studer totaled 12 points and six rebounds in just 10 minutes of court time.
 
Moment of the Game: From the 13:00 mark remaining in the game onward, there were seven tie scores and six lead changes. Napoleon nailed a three-pointer with 4:05 left in the game to give Drew a lead it would not relinquish at 56-53. Minutes later, Aldrich connected on a mid-range jumper and Collins drained a three as part of a 6-0 run to help put the game just out of reach of the Gophers with 33 seconds left and the score set at 62-55.
 
Highlights
• Goucher jumped on Drew in the opening 3:15 to the tune of a 9-0 lead. They eventually led by 12 with 13:57 to play in the first half.
• Down 18-6, Collins started the comeback with five consecutive points on long-range jumpers. Drew would tie the game at 21-21 with 7:06 to play in the half when senior guard Joey Feinberg went coast-to-coast with a steal and a fast break lay-in.
• Three more lead changes and two tie scores defined the remainder of the half, but Studer had the last word before halftime on consecutive layups assisted by Napoleon, the latter of which beat the buzzer.
• Drew didn't lead by more than five during the seesaw portion of the second half. Two Napoleon free throws erased Goucher's final advantage with 5:37 remaining, tying the game at 53-53.
 
Stat Sheet
• There were 10 tie scores and nine lead changes overall.
• Drew edged Goucher on rebounds, 43-37, while points in the paint were relatively even at 28-26 in favor of the Gophers.
• Eight of Aldrich's 10 rebounds came on the offensive glass.
• Drew backed its reputation of boasting more assists than turnovers with 14 and eight, respectively. The Rangers now have 13 games out of 19 with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio as they continue to lead the conference in the statistical category.
 
Up Next: The Rangers return to Madison on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 7:00 p.m. to host Elizabethtown College in Landmark Conference action in Baldwin Gymnasium.