SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Drew University closed the regular season with an exclamation point, becoming the first men's basketball team to go undefeated in Landmark Conference play with an 83-55 victory at Susquehanna University on Saturday.
 
The Rangers (22-3, 18-0 LC) also extended their school-record winning streak to 14 while picking up their first victory in Selinsgrove since an 88-84 victory on Jan. 9, 2019.
 
Drew will enter the Landmark Conference Championships as the No. 1 seed and will host a semifinal on Thursday at 7 p.m., taking on the winner of the first-round game between No. 5 Moravian and No. 4 Susquehanna.
 
Once again, the Rangers received a balanced scoring effort, with five players reaching double figures. Senior guard Malcolm Newman posted 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting while junior forward David Musial registered 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Sophomore guard Eli Yusavage netted 13 points off the bench while senior guard Pat Higgins dropped in 11 points. Senior forward Peso Crump contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
Brandon Lavitt paced the River Hawks (14-11, 11-7 LC) with 13 points.
 
Drew built a 10-point halftime lead (33-23) before breaking away with an explosive second half in which it outscored Susquehanna 50-32 while shooting 57.1%.
 
An early 14-0 run gave the Rangers a 19-5 lead – powered by 3-pointers from Higgins, Crump, Newman, and graduate guard James Anderson – and their advantage never dipped below seven the rest of the way. Susquehanna pulled to within single digits with 10:50 on the clock and trailed 31-23 after a 3-pointer from Steven Ressler with 3:10 to go, but Crump threw down a fastbreak dunk with 1:28 on the clock for the final points of the half.
 
The River Hawks trailed 44-33 with 13:05 remaining before the Rangers embarked on a decisive 15-1 surge, building an insurmountable 25-point lead. Yusavage spurred the run with seven of the first 10 points, and Higgins capped it with a 3-pointer with 8:40 left. Susquehanna was unable to get closer than 22 the rest of the way.
 
Drew will be hosting a Landmark Conference playoff game for the sixth time in the last seven years and will represent the No. 1 seed for the third time.