MADISON, N.J. – Catholic University used a big second half to hand the Drew University men's basketball team its first loss of the season, 88-59, in a big Landmark Conference tilt Saturday afternoon in Baldwin Gym.
 
The Cardinals (11-2, 5-1) outscored the Rangers 52-27 in the second half after leading just 36-32 at halftime.
 
With the loss, Drew (11-1, 4-1) saw its school-record 11-game winning streak come to an end.
 
Junior guard Pat Higgins led the Rangers with 16 points while junior forward Peso Crump contributed 13 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore forward David Musial also grabbed eight boards for Drew.
 
Jesse Hafemeister posted 25 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinals, who shot 52.1% from the field while earning a 48-31 rebounding advantage.
 
It was a back-and-forth affair in the early going, as there were three ties and three lead changes over the opening seven minutes.
 
The Rangers trailed just 13-11 after a layup from junior guard Josh Kline before Catholic nudged their lead to eight (24-16) with 7:04 on the clock. However, that's when Drew scored seven unanswered points, capped by a pull-up 3-pointer on the break from Crump, to draw within a point with 6:00 remaining.
 
A triple from sophomore forward Kevin Cronin had the Rangers within 31-28 game with 3:18 showing. Hafemeister knocked down a trey to push Catholic's lead back to seven, but Higgins went 3-for-4 at the foul line over the final 42 seconds of the half to bring his team within four at the intermission.
 
The Cardinals opened the second half with a 7-0 run. Junior guard Papie Roberts snapped the rally with a 3-pointer for Drew, making it 43-35, but Catholic scored the next four points and led by double figures the rest of the way.
 
Catholic held a 58-48 lead with 11:07 to go before breaking it open with a 10-0 run over the next two and a half minutes.
 
The Rangers pick up their schedule on Tuesday, when they visit Wilkes University at 7 p.m. in another Landmark Conference affair.