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Drew University Athletics

Yonathan Napoleon
64
Drew DREW-M 16-9, 9-5 LC
73
Winner Juniata JCMBB 21-4, 10-4 LC
Drew DREW-M
16-9, 9-5 LC
64
Final
73
Juniata JCMBB
21-4, 10-4 LC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Drew DREW-M 30 34 64
Juniata JCMBB 40 33 73

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Rangers Lose at Juniata, Open Postseason On Road

HUNTINGDON, Pa. – A home game in the semifinals of the Landmark Conference Tournament was at stake on Saturday afternoon, as the Drew University men's basketball team concluded the 2017-18 regular season with a visit to Juniata.  With the winner guaranteed to host its semifinal on Wednesday, Juniata (21-4, 10-4 Landmark) clinched the No. 1 seed in the tournament with a 73-64 victory over the Rangers (16-9, 9-5 Landmark) at Memorial Gymnasium.  Drew drops to the No. 3 seed and will open the Landmark Tournament at second-seeded Moravian on Wednesday night.
 
Juniata quickly jumped out to a 12-4 lead and held a 20-10 advantage at the 13:16 mark of the first half.  However, Yonathan Napoleon (Los Angeles, Calif.) hit a layup to start a 15-4 Rangers rally that put Drew in front.  After a Dan Roibal (Middletown, N.J.) layup gave the Rangers a 25-24 lead with 6:53 left before halftime, the Eagles ended the period on a 16-5 spurt to take a 40-30 cushion into the locker room.
 
Drew trimmed the margin to eight, 42-34, on Darius Reiter's (Littleton, Colo.) free throw with 17:12 remaining, but Juniata responded with 10 straight points to extend its lead to a game-high 18 points, 52-34, at the 13:55 mark.  The Rangers chipped away at the advantage, getting back within nine at 61-52 with 6:13 left.  However, the Eagles responded with a 12-5 rally to make it a 73-57 game with 1:54 to go.  Drew scored the final seven points of the contest, with a late Miles Lewis (Fair Lawn, N.J.) trey cutting the final margin to nine points, 73-64.
 
Napoleon finished one rebound shy of a double-double, tallying 20 points and nine boards to go along with three assists.  Mike Boice (Lanoka Harbor, N.J.) registered 10 points off the bench, while Riley Collins (Lacey, N.J.) contributed seven points.  Drew shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) from the field, 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from three-point land, and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) at the free throw line.
 
Seth Brewer had a game-high 21 points and added three blocks for the Eagles.  Damon Rickens finished with 12 points, while Marcus Lee tallied 11 points.  Wil Peralta handed out six assists, and Jake Holsopple grabbed five rebounds.  The Eagles outrebounded the Rangers 32-28 and shot 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the floor.  Juniata went 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) from downtown and 20-for-26 (76.9 percent) at the charity stripe.
 
The Rangers will be making their first Landmark Tournament appearance since the 2014-15 campaign on Wednesday night, when they visit Moravian (18-7, 10-4 Landmark) at 7 p.m.  It will be Drew's second trip to Moravian in eight days, as the Greyhounds notched a 93-81 victory on Feb. 14.  The Rangers won the first meeting of the season between the teams, 87-80, at Baldwin Gymnasium on Jan. 10.
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