MAHWAH, N.J. – Despite a valiant comeback, the 16th-ranked Drew University men's basketball team saw its record-breaking season ended with a 73-58 loss to the University of Mary Washington in the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship on Friday at Ramapo College.
 
Making their NCAA Championship debut, the Rangers (24-4) sliced a 25-point second-half deficit down to nine with 4:29 remaining. But the Eagles answered with a 9-0 run to pull away down the stretch.
 
Despite the loss, the Rangers finished with a tremendous season in which they set the program record for victories, became the first men's basketball team to go undefeated in Landmark Conference play (18-0), achieved the first national ranking in team history, set a Drew and Landmark Conference record with 16 straight wins, and captured the second Landmark Conference title in team history.
 
Senior guard Josh Kline posted 16 points and eight rebounds for the Rangers while senior forward Peso Crump recorded 12 points and five boards. Senior guard Malcolm Newman and junior forward Kevin Cronin chipped in with eight points.
 
Kyle Robinson scored 17 points for Mary Washington (14-14), which advances to the second round to face the winner of Ramapo and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
 
The Eagles led 45-20 with 15:02 remaining, only to see the Rangers storm back with a 14-0 run. Cronin kickstarted the run with a layup before sophomore guard Eli Yusavage drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. Kline followed up with consecutive layups to make it Crump converted an old-fashioned 3-point play. Newman dropped in a driving layup to make it 45-34 with 11:58 remaining, prompting a Mary Washington timeout.
 
Drew pulled to within 11 on two more occasions, the last coming on another Crump basket with 11:13 to go. The Eagles pushed in front by 15, but the Rangers came back with a 9-3 run to pull to within nine. Crump started the spurt with a layup before Higgins drained a 3 with 7:05 to go. Kline added four straight points, the last coming on a jumper to make it 56-47 before the Eagles went on their late run.
 
Mary Washington never trailed after jumping out to an 11-2 run. The Eagles continued to pull away over the remainder of the half, eventually building as much as a 23-point lead. The Rangers put a dent into the lead late in the half, however, scoring the last four points on a layup from Higgins and single free throws from Crump and Cronin to make it a 36-18 game at the break.
 
The Eagles opened the second half on a 9-2 run to build its 25-point lead, setting up Drew's run.
 
Under third-year Head Coach Michael McSloy, the Rangers have finished 44-10 over the last two seasons in which they have gone 31-5.