MADISON, N.J. - Senior forward
Malachi Walker, Jr. broke the Drew men's basketball record for career blocked shots and the Rangers followed up their Landmark Conference title with an 85-75 non-conference victory over Stevens Wednesday evening in Baldwin Gym.
Coming off a thrilling overtime win over Scranton in the Landmark final on Saturday, the Rangers (7-1) coasted versus the Ducks, building a 26-point lead midway through the second half. Drew led by 19 with less than three minutes to go before Stevens scored the final nine points.
Entering the night one block shy of the school record of 168 set by Onye Onwugbenu C'01 from 1997-2001, Walker surpassed the mark with a pair of rejections 55 seconds apart late in the first half. For good measure, he added another swat just over a minute later and made one final block in the second half to finish with a season-high four on the night. He added seven points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes of play.
All 16 Rangers who dressed entered the game, and 11 broke into the scoring column.
Sophomore forward
Carter Truby scored all of his career-high 14 points in the first half, when he shot 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Sophomore forward
Michael Kane also netted a career-high 14 points while freshman guard
Malcolm Newman posted 12 points and a season-high eight assists. Junior guard
David Gervase added 10 points and seven rebounds while senior forward
Lybrant Robinson registered 10 points and six boards.
Mike Goodall led Stevens (0-4) with 19 points.
The Ducks led for only 2:37 over the game's opening minutes. The Rangers took the lead for good on a lay-up from junior guard
Drew Gallagher that made it 15-14 with 13:11 left in the first half, and it was the start of a 9-2 run.
Stevens cut the gap to four with 9:19 on the clock and trailed by only six with eight minutes showing. But that's when the Rangers broke it open with a 14-2 eruption, which started and ended with a Truby 3-pointer as Drew grabbed a 42-24 lead with 5:27 on the clock. The Rangers carried a 47-32 advantage into halftime.
Drew came out hot in the second half, outscoring the Ducks 17-6 to assume their 26-point surplus. Kane knocked down a pair of 3-pointers early in the run, and Newman capped it with back-to-back buckets that made it 64-38 with 13:44 remaining. Stevens was unable to get closer than 16 until their game-ending 9-0 run.
The Rangers close out their season on Saturday, when they host Marymount University at 3 p.m. in another non-conference tilt.