Christina Christodoulou
On November 15, the Drew University men’s basketball team fell just short in their season-opening comeback effort against Farmingdale State. After trailing by 23 points at halftime, the Rangers rallied to a final score of 88-84.
Three minutes into the game, Drew was on top with a 10-2 lead, but Farmingdale responded with a 13-0 run to pass the Rangers at 15-10. In the closing five minutes of the first half, the Rams went on a 24-6 spurt to close out the period with a 48-25 advantage. Early in the second half, they extended their lead to a game-high 24 point cushion at 51-27.
At the 19:10 mark, Yonathan Napoleon (‘18) shot a back to back layup and free throw to begin a Ranger comeback effort. With 6:34 remaining, Drew pulled within one at 66-65 on a Nate Aldrich (‘19) layup before Farmingdale regained a 10 point advantage at 82-72 with just over two minutes left in play. The Rangers responded with a 10-2 run to make it 84-82 with 22 seconds remaining, but the Rams held on for the victory.
Riley Collins (’20) led the Rangers with 26 points. Napoleon tallied 20 points, and six assists and Aldrich had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds as well as four blocks and four steals. Drew shot 27 of 63 from the floor, 8 of 19 from long range and 22 of 30 at the free throw line.
The Rangers open their home schedule this on Saturday, November 18, against Brooklyn when they host the annual Rose City Classic.
