MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University men's basketball rallied several times in the second half, but Juniata College handed the Rangers an 85-81 setback on Senior Day in Baldwin Gym on Saturday.
 
Drew (17-4, 10-4 LC) trailed by 10 with 3:31 left but Drew answered with an 8-2 run, with senior Andrew Turco scoring all eight points during the spurt. His 3-pointer with 2:12 remaining made it a four-point game, and the Rangers trailed just 83-79 after freshman guard Eli Yusavage hit a pair of free throws with 40 seconds left.
 
Juniata's Chase Husted split a trip to the foul line with 35 seconds to go, and a put-back from Yusavage made it 84-81, but with only three seconds left. Mason Hardy clinched it for the Eagles by hitting the second of two free throws with two ticks showing.
 
Turco poured in a career-high 29 points for the Rangers, shooting 10-for-18 and 6-for-12 from 3-point land, while also swiping four steals. Yusavage and junior guard Pat Higgins added 13 points while junior guard Papie Roberts chipped in with 11 points.
 
Evan Eisenhart paced Juniata (13-8, 9-5 LC) with 25 points and shot 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. Husted posted 23 points and eight rebounds.
 
Drew, which recognized Turco and classmate James Anderson in a ceremony before the game, remains in third place in the Landmark Conference standings and leads fourth-place Juniata and Wilkes University by one game.
 
The Rangers were hot in the early going and an 11-0 run put them up 22-12 with 7:34 left in the opening half. Turco drained three consecutive 3-pointers during the stretch before Cronin capped the outburst with a layup.
 
Drew enjoyed its largest lead of the game when Roberts knocked down a triple with 7:01 left in the period, making it 25-14. But the Eagles answered with a big run to close the half, scoring 17 unanswered points to assume a 31-25 advantage at the intermission.
 
Juniata continued its run in the second half, scoring the first five points of the period to go up by 11. Drew came back to make it a two-point game when junior guard Josh Kline went 3-for-3 at the foul line midway through the half. But the Eagles answered again, pushing ahead with a 9-2 run that upped the lead to 11, setting up the Rangers' final rally.
 
Drew returns home on Wednesday, taking on Wilkes in another Landmark Conference affair.