Drew University Escapes with 67-65 Victory over Wilkes Men's Basketball
WILKES-BARRE – Drew University came off the bus hot but Wilkes rallied in the second half before the Rangers ultimately left Henry Gymnasium with a 67-65 win on Wednesday night.
Drew heads home 5-1 while also handing Wilkes its first loss of the season (4-1).
The Rangers raced out to a 34-14 advantage as the Colonels started the game slow. Marcus Robinson's (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) three-pointer at the 16:38 mark put his team on the board with Drew leading 6-3.
A Mark Mullins (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) layup knotted the game up at 10-10 just past eight minutes into the contest but the Rangers would go on a 24-4 run over the next 8:42 to give themselves a 34-14 advantage with 3:07 to go until halftime.
The Colonels would steady themselves before the break, due in part to a pair of Tommy Bowen (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin) layups, to trail the Rangers 39-22 after one half of play.
After the Rangers stretched their advantage back to 20 points at 49-29, the Colonels responded with a 21-3 run by getting to the basket, putting in second chances and converting from the line as Mullins scored in all three fashions during the stretch before Robinson capped off the run with a three-pointer to pull Wilkes within two at 52-50 with 8:20 remaining.
Drew would snap the run with a pair of free throws to take a four-point lead but Wilkes would not let up. Bowen came up with a huge three-point play as he secured the offensive rebound, made the layup and added the free throw to give the Colonels their first lead of the night at 57-56.
After a Drew missed three-pointer, Robinson found Connor Evans (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) for a Wilkes triple to push the lead to 60-56. The Rangers would miss on their next trip down the court and Rob Pecorelli's (Huntington, NY/Harborfields) jumper put the Colonels up six with 3:19 remaining.
Drew would cut the margin to two at 62-60 but Pecorelli would respond with a three-pointer to make it 65-60 Wilkes with 1:35 left on the clock. Unfortunately, that was the last Colonel points of the night as the Rangers ended the game on a 7-0 run.
Aldrich's three-point play cut it to 65-63 with 45 seconds left. After an empty possession by Wilkes, Drew hit a three-pointer to take the lead back at 66-65 with 19 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Rangers would make one of two from the line to give the Colonels one more chance but Robinson's three-pointer from the left wing bounced off the rim as time expired.
Wilkes outscored Drew 43-28 in the second half to give themselves a chance at the come from behind win. Mullins led the way for the Colonels with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Robinson had a game-high 18.
The Colonels return to the floor on Saturday, December 1st when they head to Clarks Summit for a 3:00 p.m. tip.
