SCRANTON, Pa. – Junior guard Eli Yusavage scored a career-high 27 points and the Drew University men's basketball team won its Landmark Conference opener with a 76-73 overtime victory at the University of Scranton Wednesday evening.
 
In a game that featured 13 ties and 23 lead changes, neither side led by more than six the entire night.
 
Yusavage shot 6-for-10 from 3-point range and also grabbed six rebounds for the Rangers (4-0, 1-0 LC), who won their conference opener for the third year in a row and the eighth time in the last nine years. His six triples were the most by a Ranger since James Anderson C'25 hit seven at Farmingdale State on Nov. 13 of last season.
 
With the victory, Drew stretched its Landmark Conference regular-season winning streak to 22 games, dating back to a 96-81 win at No. 15 Catholic on Feb. 10, 2024. The Rangers have also won 21 straight games overall versus Landmark Conference opponents (including postseason games) since last year's conference-opening win at Moravian. 
 
Senior guard Devon Musial posted 13 points and six rebounds while dropping in a big and-1 layup with 50 seconds left in overtime that put Drew in front to stay. Junior guard Andre De Los Reyes contributed 12 points and four assists for the Rangers while classmate Taylor Perlmutter contributed eight points off the bench. Senior forward David Musial added six rebounds.
 
Sammy Tornabene added 18 points and seven rebounds for Scranton (3-1, 0-1 LC) while Jon Spatola added nine points, 10 rebounds, and five assists before fouling out in overtime.
 
Scranton took a 73-72 after a pair of free throws from Brendan Carr with 1:16 remaining before Perlmutter split a pair of foul shots to pull the Rangers even 14 seconds later. After the two teams turned it over on the next three possessions, the Royals had a chance to win it at the buzzer but a fadeaway from Carr, who was blanketed by De Los Reyes, was off the mark.
 
In the extra session, De Los Reyes dropped in a fastbreak layup off a long outlet pass from Devon Musial to put the Rangers up 75-73. Neither side scored again until Josias Carbon converted a layup for Scranton at the 1:44 mark to tie it at 75-all.
 
Spatola missed a 3-pointer with just over a minute left, and senior forward Kevin Cronin hauled in the rebound, setting up Musial's big shot. Driving down the lane, he drew contact in the paint before flipping in a shot fading away from the basket, and his ensuing free throw made it 78-75.
 
At the other end, Will Marion went 1-for-2 at the line before Scranton was forced to foul. Yusavage split a pair at the stripe with 16 seconds left before Carbon missed on an open 3 from the left wing just before the horn.
 
Scranton held a six-point lead on two occasions in the first half, the last occurring with 12:47 remaining that made it 21-15. But the Rangers came back to take the lead (25-24) following a 10-3 run, capped by a Yusavage 3-pointer with 8:46 on the clock. Drew led by as much as four late in the half and carried a 38-37 lead into the intermission, led by Yusavage's 15 points.
 
The Rangers nudged their lead to five early in the second half, but Scranton held a slight lead over the majority of the period. The Royals led by four (68-64) with 3:31 on the clock before Drew came back to take the lead on a Cronin layup with 1:30 left, setting up the tight finish.
 
Drew continues its Landmark Conference schedule on Saturday, when it visits Juniata College in a 2 p.m. tip-off.