MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University men's basketball team erased a 13-point first-half deficit, but Susquehanna University went 6-for-6 at the foul line in the final 32 seconds to edge the Rangers 93-87 in the semifinals of the Landmark Conference Championship tournament Thursday evening in Baldwin Gym.
 
The sixth-seeded River Hawks (15-12) will now take on No. 4-seeded Wilkes University, a 79-70 winner over top-seeded Catholic University in the other semifinal, in the conference championship game on Saturday.
 
The second-seeded Rangers (19-7) will now hope for a possible at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Championships.
 
Junior guards Andre De Los Reyes and Eli Yusavage combined for 44 points for Drew. De Los Reyes scored 23 points while shooting 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and Yusavage netted 21 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
 
Senior forward David Musial contributed his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go with five assists. Sophomore forward Ben Manns notched 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists, and senior forward Kevin Cronin recorded nine points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Charlie Thornton also scored nine points.
 
Mikey Cumbo scored 24 points off the bench and shot 13-for-13 at the foul line for Susquehanna while Mario Castro Sanchez posted 19 points.
 
The River Hawks opened the game on a 21-8 run, but the Rangers climbed back into it with a 10-0 run, starting with an and-1 from De Los Reys and capped by a 3-pointer from Yusavage with 9:53 left in the half.
 
Susquehanna pushed its lead back into double figures later in the half and led 44-31 with 1:40 showing. But that's when the Rangers closed the half on a flurry, capped by a four-point play from De Los Reyes just before the buzzer to cut the gap to six (46-40) at the intermission.
 
The visitors scored the first four points of the second half to go up by 10, but Drew responded with a 15-5 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Cronin, to pull even at 55-all with 15:07 to go. The Rangers tied it once again when Cronin hit a pair of free throws to make it 73-73 with 8:12 showing.
 
Susquehanna pushed its lead back to 11 with 3:24 remaining, but Drew nailed back-to-back treys, as Manns and De Los Reyes connected from deep to make it 87-82 with 2:34 left. The Rangers stopped the River Hawks on the next three possessions, but were unable to capitalize on the offensive end and were forced to foul with 32 seconds left. Cumbo hit a pair of free throws before a put-back from David Musial made it 89-84 with 17 ticks showing.
 
After KJ Carson knocked down two more at the charity stripe, Yusavage drove in for a layup and drew a foul before connecting on the and-1 to make it 91-87. But Cumbo followed up with two more foul shots to set the final score with second seconds left before Drew missed on a late 3-point attempt.