MADISON, N.J. – Junior guard Pat Higgins scored a career-high 26 points and the Drew University men's basketball team held off a late rally en route to a 94-80 non-conference victory over Lebanon Valley College on Saturday in Baldwin Gym.
 
The Rangers (11-0) continued their best start in team history while extending their school-record winning streak to 11. They also posted their seventh 90-point output of the year.
 
Drew was playing its final non-conference game of the season, and for the first time since Dec. 16. It was also Drew's first meeting with Lebanon Valley since the 1996-97 season.
 
Playing just his second game of the year due to an injury in the season opener, Higgins shot 9-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
 
Four additional Rangers cracked double figures in scoring, including senior guard Andrew Turco, who netted 16 to go with four assists while shooting 4-for-10 from 3-point territory. Junior forward Peso Crump and junior guard Papie Roberts tossed in a dozen points apiece while senior guard James Anderson shot 3-for-5 from long range to finish with 11 points. Sophomore forward David Musial contributed eight points and 10 rebounds, and junior guard Josh Kline recorded six rebounds and four steals.
 
Ryan Harder paced the Flying Dutchmen (2-9) with 20 points and seven rebounds
 
Drew led by 78-62 with 6:54 left when Crump found Roberts wide open under the basket for a layup. But that's when Lebanon Valley rallied with a 16-6 run over the next 2:49 to pull within 10. It was still just a seven-point game (85-78) with 3:13 to go before the Rangers took control down the stretch.
 
Higgins got things started with a turnaround jumper before Roberts nudged Drew's lead back into double figures with a driving layup at the 1:36 mark, making it 89-78. The Flying Dutchmen answered with a bucket that cut the lead to nine with 1:16 to go but that would turn out to be the visitors' final points of the game, as they missed their last four field-goal attempts.
 
Meanwhile, Higgins helped ice it with a pair of free throws with 1:06 remaining, pushing Drew's lead back to 11 (91-80). Later, Crump pulled down a key rebound, then hit 1-of-2 at the line before Higgins provided the finishing touches with a baseline dunk with 13 ticks showing.
 
The opening half was a back-and-forth affair that featured three ties and six lead changes. A 3-pointer from Higgins put the Rangers up 27-21 with 5:54 on the clock, but that's when LVC answered with a 9-1 run to go up 30-28 with 3:28 remaining in the opening period. However, Drew responded with an 8-0 surge to assume the lead for good. Higgins scored the first five points of the spurt before Turco capped with a triple.
 
The Valley narrowed the deficit down to one before Roberts hit a big shot in the closing seconds, draining a step-back jumper to give the hosts a 40-37 halftime advantage.
 
The Dutchmen twice inched to within two in the second half, but Drew opened up some breathing room with a 12-3 run over a 3:25 span midway through the stanza. Musial capped the outburst with a put-back that made it 69-55 with 9:01 remaining. Minutes later, the Rangers pushed their lead to 16 before LVC's late rally.
 
The Rangers are back in action next Saturday, when they host Catholic University at 2 p.m. in a Landmark Conference tilt.