MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University men's basketball team withstood a huge second-half rally from Goucher College and defeated the Gophers in a 102-96 overtime thriller on Saturday in Landmark Conference action in Baldwin Gym.
 
Goucher erased a 27-point second-half deficit and tied the game at 89-all on a buzzer-beater from Onterio Miller at the end of regulation. But the Rangers came up big in the extra session, scoring the first seven points and shooting 10-for-10 at the foul line to come away with the victory.
 
Junior guard Pat Higgins paced the Rangers (14-3, 7-3 LC) with 22 points while shooting 10-for-12 at the free-throw line. He hit a pair of clutch free throws that made it a three-point game with 12 seconds left in regulation, then went 4-for-4 from the stripe in overtime.
 
Drew shot an impressive 22-for-26 at the foul line.
 
Junior guard Josh Kline scored seven points in overtime and tied his season-high with 21 for the day. Junior guard Papie Roberts added 13 points and five assists while senior guard Andrew Turco chipped in with 12 points. Sophomore forward David Musial posted his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Jacob Morgan recorded 23 points and six assists for Goucher (5-12, 3-7 LC) while Jaden Workman contributed 20 points.
 
The Rangers have become the fourth team in team history and the third in the last six years to open 14-3. The 1943-44, 2018-19, and 2019-20 squads also held the same record through 17 games.
 
Drew never trailed and opened the game on an 11-3 run. The Rangers pushed their lead to 27-13 midway through the half and led by as much as 25 on three occasions late in the period, the last coming on a put-back from Musial with 45 seconds left that made it 54-29. Goucher scored the last four points of the half to trim the deficit to 21 at the break.
 
The Rangers continued to maintain a sizable advantage through the early part of the second half. They first pushed their lead to 27 on a lay-up from freshman Eli Yusavage with 13:25, then again on a pair of free throws from sophomore forward Kevin Cronin with 12:46 to go. But that's when the Gophers erupted for a 40-13 run to end regulation. Higgins' two big foul shots made 89-86 before Miller drilled a triple from the right corner at the horn.
 
Neither side was able to score in the bonus period until Higgins earned a trip to the stripe with 3:10 remaining and cashed in to make it 91-89. Thirty seconds later, Kline swished two at line to push Drew's lead to four, then drained his clutch triple from the right elbow with 2:26 remaining to make it a 96-89 game.
 
Goucher would not go away, however, and scored the next four points to make it a one-possession game (96-93) with 37 seconds left. But that's when Higgins and Turco combined to go 4-for-4 at the line as the Rangers hit the century mark (100-93) and effectively put the game out of reach with 13 seconds left.
 
Drew returns home on Wednesday, when it hosts the University of Scranton at 7 p.m. in another Landmark Conference affair.