MADISON, N.J. – Brandon Lavitt scored on a layup with 1.4 seconds left and Susquehanna University edged the Drew University men's basketball team 68-66 in the semifinals of the Landmark Conference Championship in front of a packed crowd at Baldwin Gymnasium Thursday evening.
 
The second-seeded Rangers, who erased an eight-point deficit in the final eight minutes, conclude the season with a record of 20-6, finishing with the third-most victories in program history.
 
The third-seeded River Hawks (17-10) will now visit top-seeded Catholic in the Landmark Conference final. The Cardinals defeated Wilkes 93-88 in the other semifinal.
 
With game tied at 66-all and the game clock winding down, the River Hawks lost the ball on the right wing but it came right to Lavitt on the left post, where he converted his go-ahead basket. Drew called a timeout but was unable to get off a desperation shot at the buzzer.
 
Junior guard Josh Kline posted 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists junior guard Pat Higgins scored 14 points while senior guard Andrew Turco netted 13 points and four assists.
 
Lavitt led Susquehanna with 19 points and nine rebounds.
 
Drew found itself down 51-43 with 8:17 remaining before embarking on its comeback, starting with a 6-0 run. Turco split a pair of free throws before a Ranger full-court press forced a turnover. Sophomore forward David Musial followed with a lay-up that made it 51-46 before Kline connected on a triple from the left corner to bring the Rangers to within two.
 
Steven Ressler stopped the run with a 3-pointer for the River Hawks before freshman guard Eli Yusavage answered with a 3-ball of his own from the right corner, making it a 54-52 game with 6:36 left. Cooper Haberern nailed another 3-pointer for Susquehanna, but that's when the Rangers used another 6-0 run to take the lead.
 
Turco nailed a pair of free throws and Higgins knocked down a jumper before Kline came up with a steal off the press and fed the ball to Yusavage for a layup with 5:00 to go, bringing the raucous crowd to its feet as the Rangers took their first lead (58-57) since it was 30-29 at the 17:17 mark of the second half.
 
Susquehanna called timeout and scored the next four points, but the Rangers refused to go away. David Musial hit a pair at the charity stripe before Kline splashed home another 3-pointer following an offensive rebound from junior forward Peso Crump to put Drew on top 63-62 with 2:44 remaining.
 
The River Hawks answered with a layup and would not trail the rest of the way. Crump tied the game twice by split a trip to the free-throw line on two occasions, the second of which made it 66-all with 1:38 left. Each team came up empty on their next possession, and Susquehanna called timeout with 17 seconds left, setting up Lavitt's heroics.
 
The Rangers jumped out to a strong start, outscoring Susquehanna 14-8 to open the game. But the majority of the half was a back-and-forth affair that featured five ties and four lead changes. In a defensively-controlled period, the Rangers led 24-19 with 3:10 on the clock before the Hawks closed the half on a 5-0 run to tie the score at 24 heading into the locker room.
 
The offense picked up in the second half, and a 13-7 Susquehanna run put the visitors up 46-39 with 10:49 left. Along the way, however, Crump energized the crowd when he threw down a tremendous one-handed alley-oop dunk off a lob from Kline.
 
A lay-up from junior guard Papie Roberts cut the deficit to 41-39 with 11:54 remaining, but an 8-2 run put Susquehanna up by eight, setting up Drew's comeback.