Men's Basketball Drew Athletic Communications

Drew Men’s Basketball Pulls Away in Second Half, Downs Susquehanna in Landmark Semis

MADISON, N.J. – Senior forward Peso Crump scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the first half and the top-seeded and 25th-ranked Drew University men's basketball team pulled away early in the second period en route to a 97-81 victory over the fourth-seeded Susquehanna University in a raucous Baldwin Gym.

The Rangers (23-3), who extended their school-record winning streak to 15 and tied the team record for most victories in a season, will now host second-seeded Catholic University on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the conference final. Drew will be making its fourth appearance in the Landmark Conference championship game and its first since 2022.

Crump, who posted his third 20-point game of the season, shot 9-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. He also grabbed five rebounds.

Senior guard Josh Kline added a big double-double of 16 points and a career-high 12 assists for the Rangers. His 12 helpers tied the fifth-highest total in program history and were the most by a Ranger since Riley Collins C'20 also had 12 in a 71-60 win at King's College on Jan. 2, 2019.

Junior forward David Musial added 12 points and six rebounds for Drew while senior guard Pat Higgins contributed 12 points and five assists. Senior guard Malcolm Newman also tossed in a dozen points for the Rangers.

Cooper Haberern paced the River Hawks (15-12) with 19 points.

Both offenses were in high gear in the first half when the Rangers carried a 51-50 lead into the locker room. Drew shot 55.6% in the opening stanza while Susquehanna shot 65.6%. Neither side led by more than six in the period, when there were two ties and eight lead changes.

The River Hawks outscored the Rangers 15-10 to open the game and edged in front 24-18 with 13:21 on the clock. But Drew rallied to take the lead (29-28) on a fastbreak layup from sophomore guard Eli Yusavage with 11:06 remaining in the half after he forced a steal on the press.

Four more lead changes ensued over the rest of the period. Crump scored 14 of his points over the final 10:23 of the stanza, including two 3-pointers and an alley-oop dunk off a lob from Kline with 40 seconds left, making it 51-48. Emezie Egeonu followed with a slam for Susquehanna to make it a one-point game at the break.

The Rangers made a big push early in the second half, outscoring the River Hawks 13-1 to open the period as their lead swelled to 64-51 with 17:46 left. Musial started the run with a 3-pointer and scored five points over the stretch while Higgins also dropped in five during the run.

Drew kept up the pressure and extended the lead to 17 (70-53) on a jumper from Higgins with 13:56 to go. Susquehanna did not go away, however, and pulled to within single digits (82-73) on a layup from Mike Pirone with 6:10 remaining. But the Rangers immediately responded with a free throw from Kline and consecutive baskets from junior forward Kevin Cronin to push their lead back to 14, and they led by at least 12 the rest of the way. Crump punctuated the victory with his second alley-oop slam, this time off a feed from Higgins with 58 seconds left.

Though the Rangers have faced Catholic three times in the Landmark Conference Championships, the two sides will be facing off in the championship game for the first time on Saturday.