Dylan Krieger at Moravian 1/9/16
73
Elizabethtown ETOWN 2-13, 0-7 LC
76
Winner Drew DREW 8-7, 5-2 LC
Elizabethtown ETOWN
2-13, 0-7 LC
73
Final
76
Drew DREW
8-7, 5-2 LC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Elizabethtown ETOWN 35 38 73
Drew DREW 39 37 76

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Drew survives scare from Blue Jays

MADISON, N.J. – Elizabethtown led Drew by a point with less than a minute remaining in Wednesday evening's Landmark Conference matchup, but Rangers' leading scorer Mike Klinger scored the final two of his career-high 33 points on a pull-up jumper with 37.9 seconds left as Drew escaped with a 76-73 victory.

Josh Eden scored a team-high 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the second consecutive game, but no bucket was bigger for the junior from Slatington than his fade away in the lane that put the Blue Jays (2-13, 0-7 Landmark) ahead 73-72 with 48.7 seconds to go. It was Elizabethtown's only lead of the second half.

Drew came right back with Klinger popping in a shot from just outside the free throw line to restore its lead. The Rangers (8-7, 5-2) gave E-town opportunities to tie the game on its final two possessions by only making 1-of-2 in the double bonus on two straight trips to the line. Down by three, Matt Lane's last-second attempt was ruled to be a two-pointer, but it hit back iron and the Blue Jays' winless streak grew to eight games in the cruelest of fashions.

Elizabethtown matched a season-high with 31 field goals (31-of-76), but Peter Harding accounted for its only two 3-point field goals. Klinger alone knocked down six shots from outside for Drew and three teammates had a pair each. The Rangers shot 12-of-31 (38.7%) from three and doubled up E-town at the charity stripe, 18-9, two major factors in the outcome.

There was no shortage of effort from the Blue and Gray, especially on the boards where they outrebounded Drew 49-39. Eden led all players with 11 as part of his second double-double of the season. Lane, Matt Ziegler and Jamil Pines-Elliott all had six rebounds, while Dylan Krieger and Jake Sweger added five.

Krieger once again gave E-town good minutes. The freshman from Hanover scored eight points in nine minutes during the first half, making 4-of-6 attempts from the floor. Eden paced the Jays with 11 at the half. Sweger chipped in six to help the visitors' bench outscore Drew's 14-1 prior to halftime.

A solid 14-point showing from Harding and 10 points by Tommy James gave the Blue Jays four players in double figures. E-town committed a season-low seven turnovers, keeping the giveaways to single digits for just the second time in 15 games.

While Elizabethtown shot over 10-percent better than Drew from the floor and almost 5-percent better from the foul line, it could not match the Rangers' outside shooting prowess. The Jays also couldn't get to the line nearly as much, taking only 13 free throws to Drew's 28. E-town was whistled for 22 fouls, while the hosts were tagged with 10.

Brian McLaughlin scored half of his 16 points at the foul line for Drew and Kevin Herring II had 13 points and nine rebounds. The Rangers opened their largest lead of the game, 27-15, on a Herring II 3-pointer with 9:35 to go in the first half. Drew's lead sat at 11, 63-52, after a Blaine Taylor layup at the 9:05 mark of the second half, before the Blue Jays got back into it with a 12-3 run over the next 5:23.

Elizabethtown will look to break into the win column in Landmark play against Goucher Saturday at 2 p.m. The Gophers earned their first league win (1-5) Wednesday night with a 95-88 overtime victory over Moravian.

 
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