PHILADELPHIA – The Drew University men's basketball team whittled an 11-point second-half deficit down to four, but Catholic University pulled away in the closing minutes to hand the Rangers a 78-70 setback on Sunday at the Palestra in a rematch of last year's Landmark Conference championship game.
 
Junior guard Eli Yusavage scored 22 points to lead the Rangers (10-3, 4-2 LC), who were making their second appearance at one of the most historic basketball arenas in the country. Drew and Catholic led off the fourth annual "Landmark at the Palestra," a quadruple header of Landmark Conference games.
 
Sophomore forward Ben Manns added 14 points and eight rebounds coming off the bench for Drew while junior guard Andre De Los Reyes contributed 10 points. Senior forwards Kevin Cronin and David Musial chipped in with nine points and eight rebounds, respectively.
 
CJ Ruoff scored 23 points while Brian Herbert netted 22 points for the Cardinals (10-3, 6-0 LC).
 
Drew outscored Catholic 8-4 to start the game, as Cronin and De Los Reyes each knocked down an early 3-pointer. But the Cardinals scored the next seven points and would not trail the rest of the way.
 
Catholic led by as much as 12 (30-18) in the opening half, but the Rangers climbed right back into it with an 8-0 run. Manns kick-started the rally on a tip-in before junior guard Charlie Thornton drained a 3. Manns followed up with a triple of his own to make it 30-26 with 4:50 left in the opening half.
 
The Cardinals pushed their lead back to eight, but a old-fashioned 3-point play from Manns cut it to five (36-31) at the half.
 
Drew twice edged to within four early in the second half, the last time coming on a lay-up from senior guard Devon Musial with 12:44 left that made it 47-43. However, that's when Catholic went on a 7-0 run to push their advantage to 11 with 10:19 to go.
 
A 3-pointer from Cronin made it a 56-51 game with 8:33 remaining, but Catholic went back up by 10 just over two minutes later. But Yusavage answered with back-to-back treys, making it 63-59 with 5:09 showing. However, that's as close as the Rangers would get as the Cardinals iced the game at the foul line, where they shot 13-for-16 the rest of the way.
 
Drew returns home on Wednesday, when it takes on Wilkes University in another Landmark Conference tilt starting at 7 p.m.