FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Fifth-year guard
James Anderson scored a career-high 22 points on a tremendous shooting performance, but Farmingdale State University rallied for a 74-72 victory over the Rangers in non-conference men's basketball action Wednesday evening.
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The host Rams erased a 12-point second-half deficit, capped by a pair of go-ahead foul shots from Jevon Santos with one second left.
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Anderson knocked down a career-high seven 3-pointers – a mark that tied for seventh in team history – on 10 attempts from beyond the arc.
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Senior guard
Pat Higgins added 12 points and five assists for the Rangers (1-2) while senior guard
Josh Kline contributed nine points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Michael Notias scored 17 points to lead Farmingdale (1-0), a team that finished 27-3 and reached the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament last season.
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It was a nip-and-tuck affair early in the game, but Anderson and Higgins connected on consecutive 3-pointers to end the half and assume a 40-33 lead at the intermission. However, the Rams responded with the first eight points of the second half to reclaim the lead.
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Anderson caught fire for the Rangers midway through period, scoring all but two points during a 14-2 Drew run. He opened the surge with back-to-back 3s, and after his steal set up a dunk from senior forward
Peso Crump, he capped the run with two more triples that put the Blue and Green up 59-48 with 11:45 to go.
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Anderson's seventh and final trey gave Drew its largest lead of the night at 62-50 with 10:28 showing. But that's when Farmingdale State embarked on its rally, eventually tying the game at 70 on a layup from Hamdel Mohammed with 1:57 left.
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A second-chance basket from Kline put Drew on top 72-70 with 1:28 remaining before a driving lay-up from Santos made it 72-72 with 1:13 showing. The two sides traded defensive stops before the Rams grabbed a defensive rebound with 20 seconds remaining, and Santos was fouled driving the lane before hitting his game-winning free throws.
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The Rangers play their home opener on Saturday, when they take on York (N.Y.) College in a non-conference outing starting at 4 p.m.
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