SCRANTON, Pa. - Sophomore guard Malcolm Newman scored a career-high 26 points and dished out five assists while senior guard David Gervase netted 21 points, and the Drew University men's basketball team pulled away late for a 79-69 victory over the University of Scranton in a Landmark Conference (LC) tilt Wednesday evening.

With the victory, the Rangers (14-8, 8-3 LC) completed a regular-season sweep of the Royals for the first time in Landmark Conference play. Drew last swept Scranton during the 1996-97 season, when the two squads competed together in the Middle Atlantic Conference.

With three regular-season games left, Drew finds itself in second place in the Landmark standings, leading Catholic University by one game.

Junior forward Howard McBurnie, Jr. added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Rangers while senior guard Miles Lewis notched eight points and six rebounds. Junior forward Michael Kane also contributed six boards.

Stephen Braunstein paced Scranton (12-9, 6-5 LC) with 16 points while Tahaj Parland tallied 15 points. The Rangers held Jackson Danzig, the conference's leading scorer entering the night, to a season-low four points.

For the second game in a row, Drew played without its third-leading scorer, senior guard Lybrant Robinson.

Newman and Gervase combined to score Drew's last 15 points, including a 3-pointer from Gervase that put the Rangers up 67-58 with 7:24 remaining. The Royals whittled the deficit down to four with 5:50 remaining, but Newman answered with a 3-pointer.

Scranton trailed just 72-67 with 3:29 left, but that's when Newman took over, scoring all six of his team's points during a key 6-2 spurt. He went 4-for-4 at the foul line during the stretch, and his second two free throws put the men in green up 78-69 with 1:32 to go. Drew sealed its win at the defensive end, stopping the Royals on their final three possessions.

In the first half, the Rangers led by as much as nine midway through the period before Scranton rallied to take a three-point lead. Drew trailed just 38-37 at the half following a put-back from McBurnie at the buzzer.

The hosts pushed their lead to five early in the second half, but an 11-1 run gave the Rangers a 48-43 advantage with 15:51 left. Scranton would eventually tie the game, but was unable to take the lead again the rest of the way.

Drew plays its final road game of the regular season on Saturday, when it visits Juniata College in a Landmark Conference affair starting at 2 p.m.