Tough D Helps Rangers Snap Skid

MADISON, N.J. - Some late clutch play gave Drew a 61-54 win over the visiting Goucher Gophers.  The Rangers lockdown defense dominated the Gophers near the end, allowing the visitors just five points in the final seven plus minutes of play.  A key three by Gerard Mullin and good free throw shooting down the stretch helped snap Drew's long losing streak and improve to 5-14, 2-6 in the Landmark Conference; Goucher falls to 5-12, 3-4.  Mullin led all scorers, and four Rangers in double digits, with 16 points.  

A hard fought first half finished with the Rangers leading by two, 29-27.  The Rangers led by eight early as a balanced offense brought the score to 13-5 after six minutes of play.  The Gophers even things up on a pair of threes and two free throws, but David Cramer gave Drew a one point edge that would turn into seven.  Mike Mayes scored on a pair of lay-ups and Nelson Albino and Dave Pepperman added buckets to put Drew up 23-16.  The Rangers held their largest lead of the half at 29-20 with 2:39 left on a Mayes free throw, but the Gophers, who did not shoot the ball well, pulled to within two at the break thanks to a number of offensive rebounds and some easy hoops.  The Gophers had a huge edge on the boards, 23 to 15, including 12 offensive rebounds, but the Ranger defense held Goucher to just 9-34 from the field.

The second half played out similar to the first, as the teams remained tight and Drew making little advances only to be pulled back.  The games fifth tied score, 36-36, occurred with 15:14 left in the game on a Cameron Brown jumper for Goucher.  Cramer responded with a three point play only to have Ian Brown's put back cut the Drew lead to 39-38 at 14:27.  Only a Miguel Negron free throw would alter that tally over the next five minutes as the Rangers struggled to find their rhythm offensively and the Gophers went ice cold.  Cameron Brown's three with nine minutes left sparked the game back into life with Chris Lopez setting up Cramer and then a Mullin three for the Rangers.

Goucher took the lead in the following stretch of play, building the tension in Baldwin Gym.  Two Darrin Boswell threes, a Pat Bailey triple and a put back from Ian Brown, offset only by Mike Mayes' free throws, gave Goucher a 52-46 lead with 6:30 left. 

At this point, the Rangers nationally ranked defense took control and allowed Drew's sporadic scoring to be enough.  Gerard Mullin hit a key shot as he drilled a long three to cut the lead to three and force a Goucher TO.  After the Rangers got two stops on the defensive end, but no baskets, Mayes jumped across a diagonal pass and blew past the final defender for an easy layup.  A foul on the following inbound play gave Lopez two points on free throws.  The fouling Goucher possession saw the Gophers grab four offensive rebounds, but score no points; back down the other end, David Cramer drew a blocking foul on a drive to the hole and knocked down both of his free throws at 1:13 and Drew had a 55-52 lead.  The Rangers forced Goucher into a bad shot on the following possession and Lopez again hit both free throws on the next foul. With the Gophers fouling to stop the clock, Drew got two more defensive stops and hit four of their final six free throws for the nail biter win.  

Mullin led all scorers with 16, eight in each half.  Lopez added an efficient 14 points, 7 boards and three assists in minutes limited by foul trouble.  Cramer added 11 and six and Mike Mayes continued his strong play of late, rounding out his 13 points with five boards, three steals and three assists.  Dave Pepperman grabbed eight key rebounds.  Darrin Boswell had 14 for the Gophers.
Drew is now 2-6 in the Landmark Conference, tied with tomorrow's opponent Catholic.  The Rangers are two games out of the fourth and final playoff spot.