TOWSON, Md. - Junior forward
Lybrant Robinson drained a go-ahead 3-pointer with 17 seconds left and the Drew University men's basketball team held off a second-half comeback to beat host Goucher College 64-59 in Landmark Conference (LC) action Saturday afternoon.
Junior forward
Malachi Walker, Jr. posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with a pair of blocked shots for the Rangers (12-3, 3-1 LC), who led by as much as eight early in the second half.
With the score deadlocked at 59-59 and the shot clock winding down, Robinson nailed his big shot, hitting a step-back trey from the right elbow. The Gophers then missed a potential game-tying 3, but senior guard
Riley Collins came up with a big rebound. After the Rangers missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Goucher misfired from beyond the arc again, and Collins set the final score when he hit a pair of free throws with six-tenths of a second left.
Collins scored a game-high 15 points to go with five assists and four steals while becoming just the second player in program history to reach 400 career assists. Robinson, who also knocked down a clutch 3 with just under three minutes left, finished with 11 points while freshman forward
Howard McBurnie, Jr. notched eight points and nine rebounds. Junior guard
Miles Lewis grabbed eight boards off the bench.
Pat Goralski posted 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead Goucher (3-12, 0-4 LC).
It was a back-and-forth game in the early going before the Rangers used a 13-5 run to open up an eight-point lead (23-15) with 5:48 left in the opening half. Freshman forward
Michael Kane came off the bench to score five points during the stretch.
The Gophers pulled to within two, but a Walker tip-in at the buzzer gave Drew a 36-29 lead at the break.
Goucher used some stingy defense to climb back into it in the second half. After Collins hit a pair of free throws with 15:27 left to give the Rangers a 40-32 lead, the Gophers would allow just 12 points over the next 10 minutes. The hosts came back to tie the game at 52-all on a Darrell Collins jumper with 5:39 to go.
Robinson gave the Rangers some breathing room when he connected on a corner 3-pointer off a pass from Collins with 2:52 left. But the Gophers scored the next five points to pull even (59-59) once again, as Darrell Collins connected on a 3 with 1:27 left. Each side missed on their next shot before Robinson drilled his big 3.
The Rangers pick up their schedule on Wednesday, when they visit Moravian College at 7 p.m. in another Landmark Conference game.