WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Drew University men's basketball team jumped to a nine-point halftime lead, then held off Lycoming College down the stretch to earn an 85-80 Landmark Conference road victory Saturday afternoon.
 
The Rangers (16-3, 9-3 LC) won their third game in a row and have now posted the best 19-game record in program history.
 
Junior guard Pat Higgins poured in 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, and dished out five assists for Drew. Junior forward Peso Crump posted 16 points and six rebounds while junior guard Papie Roberts and senior guard Andrew Turco scored 13 points and nailed three 3-pointers apiece. Freshman guard Eli Yusavage added eight points, and sophomore forward Kevin Cronin posted seven points and a career-high-tying eight rebounds.
 
The Rangers knocked down 15 3-pointers, marking their third-highest total of the season and their most since hitting 17 in a victory at York (N.Y.) on Dec. 16.
 
Isaiah Valentine scored 29 points and shot 11-for-12 at the foul line to lead the Warriors (6-13, 2-10 LC).
 
Drew trailed 9-3 early in the game, but promptly answered with a 10-0 run to take a lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the way.
 
The Rangers led by only four late in the opening half before an 8-2 run gave them their only double-digit lead (36-26) of the game. Higgins kicked off the spurt with five straight points before Roberts drilled a 3-pointer. After Lycoming answered with a 3 of its own, Crump threw down a dunk with 31 seconds left to give the men in green their nine-point halftime lead.
 
The Warriors opened the second half on a 10-2 run to draw within a point. Lycoming trailed by one on two additional occasions but were never able to reclaim the lead.
 
Drew pushed its lead back to eight (49-41) with 14:14 left following a Cronin lay-up, but that was the largest lead either side had the rest of the way. The Rangers carried just a five-point lead into the final minute, but that's when Turco drained a big triple with 54 ticks showing to make it 84-76.
 
Lycoming still had life, however, and made four straight free throws to cut the lead in half with 13 seconds showing. But Turco hit 1-of-2 foul shots two seconds later and the Warriors missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
 
The Rangers return to Landmark Conference action on Wednesday, when they visit Moravian University at 7 p.m.