2008 Woodie Awards
Rangers' pipe dreams of postseason fizzle
Greg Del Russo
Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: Sports
Any last glimmer of playoff hope for Drew University's men's basketball team was erased on Sunday at Moravian College.
The Rangers needed four straight wins to close out the season coupled with three consecutive losses by Scranton University to squeak into the final playoff spot.
However, after the Greyhounds dealt the Rangers a 73-53 loss, any dim chance of postseason play was squashed.
With the loss, the Rangers fall to 6-16 overall and 3-8 in the conference, while Moravian improved to 8-3 in Landmark Conference play.
Moravian raced out to an early 9-0 lead behind a rambunctious home crowd.
However, the Rangers maintained composure and finally got on the board when guard Gerard Mullin ('09) connected from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 9-3.
At the 11:15 mark of the first quarter, Mullin hit a free throw to pull the Rangers to within five points, at 16-11.
However, just as it appeared that Drew may be able to overcome its early deficit and get back into the game, the Greyhounds scored the game's next seven points and 13 of the next 15 to take a commanding 29-13 lead.
However, the Rangers showed resilience, as baskets by forward David Cramer ('08), guard Nelson Albino ('09) and forward Dave Pepperman ('09), along with four straight free throws by guard Chris Lopez ('08) closed the gap to just eight points.
Drew's 10-2 run narrowed the margin to 31-23 and silenced a once hostile Moravian crowd.
Moravian forward Chris Earley ('08) caught fire in the final minutes of the first half, scoring the team's next eight points and sending the Greyhounds into halftime with a more comfortable 39-27 cushion.
The Rangers came out hungry in the second half as Mullin and Pepperman connected on several occasions to make things interesting.
After a hard-fought fourth quarter, the Rangers put themselves within striking distance heading into the final ten minutes of play.
Cramer's three-point play pulled Drew to within nine points with just over seven minutes to play.
The Rangers needed four straight wins to close out the season coupled with three consecutive losses by Scranton University to squeak into the final playoff spot.
However, after the Greyhounds dealt the Rangers a 73-53 loss, any dim chance of postseason play was squashed.
With the loss, the Rangers fall to 6-16 overall and 3-8 in the conference, while Moravian improved to 8-3 in Landmark Conference play.
Moravian raced out to an early 9-0 lead behind a rambunctious home crowd.
However, the Rangers maintained composure and finally got on the board when guard Gerard Mullin ('09) connected from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 9-3.
At the 11:15 mark of the first quarter, Mullin hit a free throw to pull the Rangers to within five points, at 16-11.
However, just as it appeared that Drew may be able to overcome its early deficit and get back into the game, the Greyhounds scored the game's next seven points and 13 of the next 15 to take a commanding 29-13 lead.
However, the Rangers showed resilience, as baskets by forward David Cramer ('08), guard Nelson Albino ('09) and forward Dave Pepperman ('09), along with four straight free throws by guard Chris Lopez ('08) closed the gap to just eight points.
Drew's 10-2 run narrowed the margin to 31-23 and silenced a once hostile Moravian crowd.
Moravian forward Chris Earley ('08) caught fire in the final minutes of the first half, scoring the team's next eight points and sending the Greyhounds into halftime with a more comfortable 39-27 cushion.
The Rangers came out hungry in the second half as Mullin and Pepperman connected on several occasions to make things interesting.
After a hard-fought fourth quarter, the Rangers put themselves within striking distance heading into the final ten minutes of play.
Cramer's three-point play pulled Drew to within nine points with just over seven minutes to play.
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