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Drew University Athletics

Yonathan Napoleon
Nicole Palmasano
91
Drew DREW-M 16-10
96
Winner Moravian MOR 19-7
Drew DREW-M
16-10
91
Final
96
Moravian MOR
19-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Drew DREW-M 34 47 10 91
Moravian MOR 41 40 15 96

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Drew Drops Overtime Heartbreaker In Landmark Semifinals

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Making its first Landmark Conference Tournament appearance in three seasons, the third-seeded Drew University men's basketball team (16-10) played an overtime thriller against second-seeded Moravian (19-7) on Wednesday night.  Yonathan Napoleon's (Los Angeles, Calif.) jumper with four seconds left sent the game into the extra period, but the Greyhounds scored the first five points of overtime before closing out a 96-91 victory.
 
The Greyhounds led by six, 80-74, with 41 seconds remaining in regulation before Mike Boice (Lanoka Harbor, N.J.) started Drew's comeback effort with a layup at the 37-second mark.  Riley Collins (Lacey, N.J.) stole the ball on the ensuing Moravian possession, then drained a three to make it a one-point game, 80-79, with 23 seconds to go.  After calling timeout, the Rangers fouled Nicholas Casazza with 20 seconds left.  He made the first free throw, but missed the second and Dan Roibal (Middletown, N.J.) grabbed the rebound.
 
However, Moravian immediately got it back on a Mike Martino steal.  He was immediately fouled, but missed both foul shots, and Roibal once again pulled down the rebound for the Rangers.  Drew held for one shot, with Napoleon hitting the jumper to tie it at the four-second mark.  The Greyhounds took timeout to set up a final play, but were unable to get a shot off and the contest went to overtime deadlocked at 81-81.
 
A pair of Jimmy Murray jumpers gave Moravian a four-point lead early in the extra session, and the Greyhounds opened up an 88-82 lead with two minutes remaining in overtime.  Darius Reiter (Littleton, Colo.) countered with five straight points, though, to bring Drew within one, 88-87.  The Rangers had a chance to tie when Napoleon was fouled on a layup with 14 seconds left, but he missed the free throw and Moravian grabbed the rebound. 
 
After C.J. Barnes hit both at the line to make it a three-point game, 94-91, Collins missed a trey on the other end.  Barnes again corralled the rebound for the Greyhounds and was immediately fouled.  He sank both free throws with just over a second to go, closing out a 96-91 Moravian victory that sent the Greyhounds into the Landmark Championship Game against top-seeded Juniata.
 
Napoleon finished with a game-high 29 points while also securing five rebounds.  Nate Aldrich (Franklinville, N.J.) had his 11th double-double of the season with 19 points and 16 boards, as Drew outrebounded Moravian 47-39.  Collins added 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Reiter tallied 11 points.  The Rangers shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64) from the floor, 30 percent (6-of-20) from downtown, and 78.6 percent (33-of-42) at the free throw line.
 
Drew led by six, 17-11, midway through the first half, but Moravian responded with an 11-2 run to go up 22-19 with 8:21 left in the opening period.  The Greyhounds eventually opened up an 11-point cushion, 41-30, before Collins made four consecutive free throws to trim the Rangers' deficit to seven, 41-34, at the break.
 
Moravian pushed the margin back to 10 points, 50-40, four minutes into the second half, before an Aldrich layup sparked the Rangers' comeback effort.  Drew got within two, 55-53, on a pair of Napoleon free throws with 10:32 left in the second half, then tied it at 57-57 when Napoleon sank two more foul shots at the 9:26 mark.  The Greyhounds responded with a 14-7 spurt, though, to open up a 71-64 cushion with 4:30 left, and Moravian led 80-74 with 41 seconds remaining in regulation before Drew began its game-tying rally.
 
Murray led the Greyhounds with 24 points, while Barnes notched 20 points and seven rebounds.  Nicholas Casazza contributed 18 points and five boards, and Oneil Holder just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.  He also tallied three assists and three blocks.  Will Brazukas, meanwhile, distributed five assists for Moravian, which shot 47.9 percent (34-of-71) from the field.  The Greyhounds were 10-for-25 (40 percent) from long range and 18-for-28 (64.3 percent) at the charity stripe.
 
With the win, Moravian advanced to its second straight Landmark Championship Game.  Drew will now wait to see if its selected to play in the ECAC Tournament.
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