MADISON, N.J. - The Drew University men's basketball team bolted out to a 53-29 halftime lead, then held off a second-half surge to earn a 90-79 Landmark Conference (LC) victory over Elizabethtown College Monday afternoon in Baldwin Gym.

Junior forward Howard McBurnie, Jr. scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Rangers (10-5, 4-0 LC), who won their seventh game in a row while staying undefeated in conference play. McBurnie also grabbed 15 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season. 

Senior guard David Gervase shot 5-of-7 from 3-point range, poured in 21 points, and grabbed eight rebounds for Drew, which shot a red-hot 60.5% from the field in the opening half. Sophomore guard Malcolm Newman dished out seven assists without committing a turnover while senior guard Drew Gallagher pitched in with five assists.

Nine of the 11 players who entered the game scored a point for Drew, which is now on its longest winning streak since winning seven in a row midway through the 2017-18 season.
Jalin Robinson scored 16 points to lead Elizabethtown (5-8, 0-3 LC), which outscored Drew 50-37 in the second half.

The Rangers took control right from the start, outsourcing the Blue Jays 13-3 to open the game.

Midway through the half, McBurnie came up with a steal before driving coast-to-coast for a thunderous slam, kicking off a 16-4 run that push Drew's lead to 19 (31-12) with 7:38 on the clock. Then late in the half, the Rangers used an 11-1 outburst to open up a 28-point advantage (53-25) with 1:14 on the clock.

Elizabethtown scored the last four points of the first half and the first six points of the second period to whittle the deficit down to 18. The Rangers still led by 20 (60-40) after a conventional 3-point play from McBurnie with 14:40 left, only to see Etown rally with an 11-2 run to make it an 11-point game with 10:55 remaining. 

The Blue Jays pulled as close as 10 (65-55) with 9:30 to go, but that's as close as they would get. An 8-2 Drew spurt pushed the lead back up to 18 (81-63), effectively putting the game away for the Rangers with 5:26 remaining. 

Drew resumes its three-game week on Wednesday, when it hosts Susquehanna University in another Landmark Conference tilt starting at 7 p.m.