MADISON, N.J. - Muhlenberg College rallied from a nine-point deficit early in the second half to hand the Drew University men's basketball team an 81-76 setback in the Rangers' season and home opener Tuesday evening at a packed and noisy Baldwin Gym.

It was an exciting game down the stretch, and a baseline jumper from senior guard David Gervase made it a one-possession game (79-76) with 24 seconds left. However, the Mules made a pair of free throws five seconds later and the Rangers turned it over on their final possession.

Senior guard Lybrant Robinson led Drew with a game-high 20 points, shooting 4-for-9 from 3-point range. Gervase contributed 13 points while junior forward Howard McBurnie, Jr. notched a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Malcolm Newman chipped in with 12 points and seven assists.

Justin Allen paced the Mules (2-0) with 17 points while Dan Gaines had 16 points and seven assists.

Muhlenberg did not compete last season, but finished 19-9 in the 2019-20 season. The Rangers are coming off a 7-2 season in which they captured the Landmark Conference title.

Drew was hot from the outside early on, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first eight minutes. Sophomore guard Andrew Turco hit the final triple of the stretch to cap a 12-0 run and hand the Rangers their largest lead (23-12) of the night with 11:41 on the clock.

The Mules answered, however, cutting the deficit down to three within the next eight minutes. Giovanni Rubino nailed a jumper at the buzzer to pull the visitors to within 40-36 at the break.

Drew scored the first two buckets of the second half on a jumper from Robinson and a 3-pointer from Gervase to push its advantage back up to nine (45-36) less than two minutes into the period. But Muhlenberg rallied once again and came back to take the lead (57-55) with 9:39 to go following a 10-2 run.

It was a tight contest the rest of the way, with neither side leading by more than five. The Mules led most of the way, however, and hit a pair of consecutive buckets to go up 77-72 with 1:12 remaining. Newman drove in for a lay-up to make it a three-point game with 36 seconds left before Rubino hit a pair of big foul shots for the Mules, setting up Gervase's late basket.

The Rangers continue their season this weekend, when they compete in the TCNJ Tournament. Drew opens on Friday when it takes on York (Pa.) College at 7 p.m.