MADISON, N.J. – Junior guard Andrew Turco scored a game-high 20 points and the Drew University men's basketball team rode a hot start to a 73-58 non-conference victory over Baruch College Saturday afternoon in Baldwin Gym.
 
The Rangers (3-1) led from start to finish and outscored the Bearcats 45-29 in the first half, when they shot 51.7% from the field.
 
Turco nailed 6 of 11 shots from from beyond the arc while trying his career-high set four days earlier in a win over Saint Elizabeth.
 
Junior forward Michael Kane added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Rangers while sophomore guard Papie Roberts enjoyed an impressive showing in his first career start, posting 13 points and six assists. Freshman forward David Musial contributed nine points and 10 rebounds.
 
Emil Purisic led the Bearcats (3-2) with 13 points.
 
Drew held Baruch to 33.3% shooting, including 15.8% (3-for-19) from 3-point range.
 
The Rangers outscored the Bearcats 12-2 to start the game, when Kane scored seven of his points. Baruch trailed just 31-23 with 7:04 left in the opening half, but that's when Drew reeled off a 14-3 run to open up a 19-point advantage. Musial scored the first four points of the decisive run before Roberts added the next five, including an and-1 lay-up with 3:48 on the clock that made it 40-24. Turco added the last five points of the outburst, punctuated by a 3-pointer with 2:19 to go in the period.
 
Baruch twice pulled to within 14 in the opening 11 minutes of the second half, but an 8-2 Drew run pushed the hosts advantage to 20 (63-43) with 7:48 remaining. Turco and Roberts hit consecutive 3-pointers to start the spurt before freshman forward Anthony Tancredi capped it with a pair of free throws. The Bearcats were unable to get closer than 17 until scoring the final basket of the game.
 
The Rangers return to the court on Tuesday, when they visit John Jay College at 8 p.m. in another non-conference affair.