MADISON, N.J. – In a battle between the top two teams in the Landmark Conference, the Drew men's basketball team achieved several major milestones with a 77-70 Landmark Conference victory over Catholic on Saturday in Baldwin Gym.
 
The Rangers (20-3, 16-0 LC) set a team record with their 12th consecutive victory, topping last year's squad that opened the season 11-0, and clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Landmark Conference Championships.
 
In addition, Drew became the first men's basketball team in conference history to open 16-0.
 
Catholic (19-4, 14-2 LC) entered the day just one game between the Rangers in the Landmark Conference standings. The Cardinals had not lost since Drew captured a 76-71 overtime decision at Catholic back on Jan. 11.
 
The win also gave the Rangers their fourth 20-win season in team history, which have all come in the last seven years.
 
Senior forward Peso Crump tied a season-high with 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Drew, which pulled away late to break open a nailbiter. Senior guard Josh Kline added 19 points while classmate Malcolm Newman contributed 18 points, including several big shots in the closing minutes. Senior guard Pat Higgins contributed seven points and six assists, and junior forward David Musial snared eight rebounds.
 
Dan Buckley scored 19 points to lead the Cardinals while Brian Herbert netted 17 points.
 
The two teams were whistled for a combined 43 fouls, leading to three players fouling out.
 
Neither side led by more than six in a defensive-minded first half that featured three ties and seven lead changes. Catholic led 14-9 seven minutes into the game before the Rangers used an 11-4 burst, sparked by consecutive 3-pointers from graduate guard James Anderson, to assume a 20-18 advantage with 8:27 left in the half.
 
Kline drilled back-to-back triples to put the Rangers up 26-20 with 5:46 on the clock before the Cardinals went back in front with a 7-0 run. But Drew answered with 3-pointers from Crump and Higgins and the hosts led 32-29 at the half.
 
A 7-2 run to open the second period, capped by a conventional 3-point play from Newman, gave the Rangers an eight-point advantage with 16:35 remaining. Catholic later climbed back into it with an 8-0 spurt, claiming a 47-45 lead with 10:47 to go.
 
The rest of the game featured three ties and five lead changes. Crump brought the crowd to its feet when he slashed down the lane for a dunk in traffic to put the Rangers up 54-49 with 9:04 remaining; however, Catholic scored the next six points, and neither side led by more than four over a scintillating eight-minute stretch.
 
With the score tied 61-61, Kline and Newman dropped in back-to-back buckets as Drew went up by four. The Cardinals hit a pair of free throws to edge within 65-63 with 2:31 on the clock, but Newman answered with perhaps the two biggest shots of the game – a 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:37 left and a driving layup with 57 ticks showing to put his team up 70-63.
 
Catholic hit a pair of free throws to pull to within five, but Higgins responded with a pair of big foul shots to make it 72-65 with 53 ticks showing and the Cardinals were unable to get closer than six the rest of the way. Crump went 2-for-2 at the foul line with 35 seconds left and sophomore guard Eli Yusavage hit 3-of-4 at the stripe as the Rangers sealed the win at the line.
 
The Rangers play their final regular-season home game on Wednesday, when they take on Elizabethtown at 7 p.m. in another Landmark Conference affair.