The Rangers tried to pull of one more upset in their season of resurgence, but fell to Wilkes, 70-55 in Baldwin Gym. The Rangers were within five points in the second half and gave the third place Colonels more than they wanted. Sam Taub led Drew (9-16, 4-10) with 12 points while Mike Constantine paced Wilkes (13-9, 9-5) with 19 points.
Wilkes took at 33-24 at the end of the first half. Down 15-5 early, Drew took a 22-21 lead on a Damon DiLorenzo lay-up with five minutes remaining. Wilkes finished the half on a 12-2 run with Mike Constantine scoring seven in the span for the nine point lead.
Drew scored the first four points of the second half, the bring the game to 33-28 on a Sam Taub jumper. The Rangers stayed with seven points of the Colonels for the next few minutes, but an 11-2 run by Wilkes put the game out of reach. A free throw shooting contest for much of the second half, the Colonels secured the win by hitting 23 foul shots and out-rebounding Drew 43-30.
Taub led the Rangers with 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Bob Carella added eight and Dennis Mayes had six off the bench to go with a pair of steals. Constantine led Wilkes with 19 while Chris Shovlin and Evan Walters also reached double figures with 18 and 17, respectively.
Drew finishes the season at 6-16 and 4-10 in the Freedom Conference.
Newspaper Box Score Wilkes Colonels vs Drew University Rangers 2/18/06 3:00 at Baldwin Gym At Baldwin Gym WILKES COLONELS 70, DREW UNIVERSITY RANGERS 55 WILKES COLONELS (13-9 (9-5)) Mike Constantine 4-11 8-9 19; Chris Shovlin 8-17 2-3 18; Evan Walters 6-10 5-11 17; Greg Cardamone 2-2 1-4 5; Steve Kline 1-2 2-2 4; Matt Gould 1-2 0-0 2; John Sclafani 0-1 2-2 2; Tyler Jenkins 0-1 1-4 1; Jeremy Kable 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-47 23-37 70. DREW UNIVERSITY RANGERS (9-16 (4-10)) Sam Taub 6-7 0-2 12; Bob Carella 3-10 0-1 8; Dennis Mayes 1-3 3-4 6; Chris Lopez 1-7 3-4 5; Mike Amalfie 1-2 2-3 4; Dave Pepperman 1-1 2-2 4; David Cramer 1-7 2-4 4; Steve Natoli 1-3 0-0 3; Kevin Codey 1-2 0-0 3; Damon DiLorenzo 1-6 0-0 2; Ryan Eisner 0-1 2-3 2; Nelson Albino 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-50 16-25 55. Wilkes Colonels............... 33 37 - 70 Drew University Rangers....... 24 31 - 55 3-point goals-Wilkes Colonels 3-15 (Mike Constantine 3-7; Chris Shovlin 0-4; Steve Kline 0-1; Matt Gould 0-1; John Sclafani 0-1; Jeremy Kable 0-1), Drew University Rangers 5-19 (Bob Carella 2-7; Kevin Codey 1-1; Dennis Mayes 1-1; Steve Natoli 1-2; David Cramer 0-2; Chris Lopez 0-6). Fouled out--Wilkes Colonels-None, Drew University Rangers-David Cramer. Rebounds-Wilkes Colonels 43 (Evan Walters 11), Drew University Rangers 31 (Sam Taub 6). Assists-Wilkes Colonels 4 (Chris Shovlin 3), Drew University Rangers 9 (David Cramer 3; Chris Lopez 3). Total fouls-Wilkes Colonels 22, Drew University Rangers 28. A-250