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Drew University Athletics

Riley Collins
Chris Pedota
81
Drew DREW-M 16-8, 9-4 LC
93
Winner Moravian MOR 18-6, 10-3 LC
Drew DREW-M
16-8, 9-4 LC
81
Final
93
Moravian MOR
18-6, 10-3 LC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Drew DREW-M 33 48 81
Moravian MOR 42 51 93

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Despite Loss, Drew Clinches Playoff Berth

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – On Wednesday night, the Drew University men's basketball team (16-8, 9-4 Landmark) dropped a 93-81 decision to Moravian (18-6, 10-3 Landmark) at Johnston Hall in a battle for first place in the Landmark Conference.  Despite the loss, the Rangers clinched a place in the Landmark Conference Tournament for the first time in three years.
 
Drew can finish no worse than 9-5 in conference play and owns the potential three-way tiebreaker over Catholic and Scranton for the final spot(s) in the four-team field, if necessary.  If the Rangers win at Juniata on Saturday, they'll be guaranteed at least the No. 2 seed and a home game in the semifinals next Wednesday.
 
There were four ties and 10 lead changes in the first half of the Rangers' contest at Moravian.  Drew took an early 6-2 lead before the Greyhounds responded with an 11-2 rally to go up 13-8.  After the Rangers went back in front, 16-15, with 8:16 left in the half, Moravian rattled off five straight points to take a 20-16 advantage.  However, Drew countered with a 13-3 rally, taking a 29-23 advantage on Darius Reiter's (Littleton, Colo.) three-pointer with 4:21 remaining before halftime.  Moravian closed the half on a 19-4 spurt, though, and took a 42-33 cushion into the locker room.
 
After Riley Collins (Lacey, N.J.) sank a trey to open the second half, Moravian scored six of the next eight points to increase the margin to 48-38.  The Greyhounds took their largest lead of the game, 68-52, at the 9:04 mark before the Rangers went on a 10-3 spurt to pull within nine, 71-62, with 6:30 left.  That's as close as Drew would get the rest of the way, though, as Nicholas Casazza drained a three on the ensuing Moravian possession to bring the margin back to 12 points, 74-62.  The Rangers again pulled within nine at 89-80 on Yonathan Napoleon's (Los Angeles, Calif.) three-pointer with 2:01 remaining, but the Greyhounds took over sole possession of first place with a 93-81 victory.
 
Collins scored 23 of his team-high 25 points in the second half.  Napoleon, meanwhile, recorded 21 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and three steals.  Nate Aldrich (Franklinville, Pa.) finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Dan Roibal (Middletown, N.J.) grabbed a team-best nine boards while also tallying three assists and four steals.  Drew shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the field and outrebounded Moravian 36-32.  The Rangers were 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) from downtown and 21-for-30 (70 percent) at the charity stripe.
 
For the Greyhounds, Oneil Holder had a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds.  Jimmy Murray finished with 19 points and eight assists, while C.J. Barnes tallied 16 points off the bench.  Casazza added 12 points and four assists, and Matt Cardonne chipped in 10 points.  Mike Martino, meanwhile, handed out four assists to go along with six rebounds.  Moravian shot 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from the floor, 45.2 percent (14-of-31) from long range, and 84 percent (21-of-25) at the free throw line.
 
With the loss, the Rangers dropped into a second-place tie with Juniata (20-4, 9-4 Landmark) heading into a 2 p.m. showdown with the Eagles in Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon.  The winner will clinch a home game in the Landmark semifinals.  Drew, which will be making its first postseason appearance since 2014-15, can still earn the No. 1 seed in the Landmark Tournament with a win and a Moravian loss at Catholic.
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