MADISON, N.J. – Graduate student Jackson Danzig* (Clarks Green, Pa./Abington Heights) broke an 81-all tie with a pair of free throws with 0:41 left in overtime and The University of Scranton men's basketball team (15-7, 7-4 Landmark) held on for an 84-82 victory over the Drew University Rangers (11-11, 3-8 Landmark) on Wednesday night at Baldwin Gymnasium in Madison.

Drew was able to cut the lead to one after Howard McBurnie Jr. split a pair of free throws, but freshman EJ Matthews-Spratley (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) split a pair on the other end to push the lead back to two and a contested three by McBurnie Jr. was well off the mark at the buzzer as Scranton held on for the victory.

Scranton is tied for third in the Landmark standings along with Juniata with three regular season games remaining. The top four teams will qualify for the conference tournament that is slated to get underway on Feb. 22.

The two teams traded baskets for much of the first half and Drew led 19-18 before sophomore Will McLoughlin (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock) hit a layup to ignite an 11-4 run that resulted in a 29-23 Royals' lead with 7:31 left in the opening stanza. From there, the Rangers were able to battle back to tie the game at 33 apiece and Danzig then scored six straight points in the final two minutes of the half for a 41-38 edge.

Head coach Carl Danzig's team opened up the lead to 49-43 following a three-point play from senior Stephen Braunstein* (Colts Neck, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy), but Drew responded with an 11-2 run to take a 54-51 lead with 12:11 to play. Matthews-Spratley sank a three to tie things at 56 apiece and later hit a jumper for a 66-62 edge at the 8:17 mark. However, the back-and-forth nature of the game resulted in five straight points from McBurnie Jr. for a 71-70 edge at the 4:44 mark and Drew led 76-73 with over two minutes to play when a Danzig three tied the game at 76 apiece. The game was scoreless for the final 2:22 of regulation and both sides prepared for the extra session.

The Royals drew first blood in overtime behind a pair of McLoughlin free throws and later held an 81-78 advantage following a three-point play by freshman Jon Spatola (Marlboro, N.J./Marlboro). Drew's Michael Kane quickly answered with a three to tie the game, but Danzig sank the afore-mentioned clutch free throws as Scranton escaped with the road win.

Danzig had 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting to lead the visitors and three other double figures scored in double figures as Matthews-Spratley had 14, Braunstein had 12 and McLoughlin had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The double-double was McLoughlin's fourth of the season.

McBurnie Jr. led Drew with a game-high 29 points and 16 rebounds, while Andrew Turco added 17 points.

Scranton shot 48.3% (29-of-60) from the floor, 39.1% (9-of-23) from deep and 85.0% (17-of-20) from the charity stripe. The Rangers were 29-of-65 (44.6%) from the field, 11-of-32 (34.4%) from deep and 13-of-19 (68.4%) from the free throw line.

On the glass, Scranton held a 38-35 edge behind McLoughlin's 11 boards which matched his career-high that had been set in a win over Franklin & Marshall on Dec. 7.

The Royals head to Elizabethtown on Saturday afternoon with opening tip against the Blue Jays slated for 4 p.m.

--ROYALS--