WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Drew University men's basketball team tied a school record with its 11th straight victory and the Rangers held off a late rally to defeat Wilkes University 102-92 in a Landmark Conference affair Wednesday evening.
 
The Rangers (19-3, 15-0 LC), who shot a season-high 60.3% from the field, led 52-25 at halftime and by as much as 36 early in the second half. The Colonels rallied with a 67-point second half, but their comeback ran out of time.
 
Drew has now equaled last year's team for the longest winning streak, as that squad opened the season 11-0. The Rangers also join the 2014-15 Catholic University team as the only two squads to start 15-0 in Landmark Conference play.
 
With the win, Drew also clinched a first-round bye in the Landmark Conference playoffs for the second year in a row.
 
Six Rangers scored in double figures, which exceeded 100 points for the sixth time this season. Senior guard Malcolm Newman dropped in 19 points and swiped three steals while classmate Josh Kline added 18 points and six assists. Sophomore forward Matthew Zenker scored 17 points while shooting 4-for-7 from beyond the arc.
 
Graduate guard James Anderson shot 5-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points, and sophomore guard Eli Yusavage contributed 11 points. Junior forward David Musial posted 10 points and eight rebounds.
 
Cayden Merrifield scored 28 points for Wilkes (19-6, 10-5 LC) while Lucas Lesko notched 20 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Rangers never trailed after bolting to a 16-4 lead, with Newman scoring nine of his points during the stretch. The advantage ballooned to 22 (35-13) following Zenker's second 3-pointer of the night, and a 15-8 run to end the half gave Drew its 27-point lead at the intermission.
 
Drew continued to pull away in the second half, when it opened on a 13-4 run. Kline, Musial, and Zenker all connected from 3-point range as the visitors went up 65-29 with 17:16 to go.
 
The Rangers still led by over 30 with 13:22 remaining and by 26 with 10:46 left before Wilkes got hot down the stretch. The hosts outscored the Rangers 36-21 to make it a 10-point game, but by that time there were only 24 seconds left. The Colonels then missed a 3-pointer that could have cut the deficit to single digits with 13 ticks showing, and Newman hauled in the rebound before scoring Drew's final points with a pair of free throws four seconds later.
 
Drew returns to action with a big Landmark Conference showdown on Saturday, when they host Catholic University on Saturday. The Cardinals are in second place in the Landmark Conference standings and trail the Rangers by just one game.