MADISON, NJ–On Wednesday night, GMC Hoops traveled up to Drew University to take in its second college hoops game of the season. It was a crosstown rivalry game as the Rangers hosted FDU-Florham, which is just several minutes down the road on Madison Avenue (Route 124) in Madison, the Rose City. This game didn’t disappoint either. GMC Hoops has seen two games at Drew since starting college hoops coverage several years ago, and they have both been close.
In this contest, there was no lead bigger than 12 points. Each team had significant runs in this game. In the first half, Drew trailed 15-13, but put together an 18-5 spurt over a span of about 6:45 to lead 31-20 with about two minutes left before halftime. However, FDU-Florham, led by former J.P. Stevens standout, Andrew Biancosino, fought back with an 18-8 run that included nine points and two assists from Biancosino (14 points and 10 rebounds) to close the gap to 39-38 with 15:06 to go in the game. Drew then regained control of the matchup with a 15-5 run that included a three pointer, and a traditional three point play from Linden native, Mike Mayes for a 54-43 lead with 8:23 remaining.
FDU-Florham fought back again though. A resilient Devils team led by Biancosino, who was just medically cleared to play this month, and seemed winded at times, battled back with a 23-10 surge over a span of 7:26 to take its first lead since the 8:45 mark of the first half at 66-64 with 56.9 seconds left. Absegami High School’s Ricky Fetske, who had a game high 25 points along with 15 rebounds for a monster double-double, got a layin underneath for the lead after the Devils appeared to have lost the ball for a moment. However, Drew tied it to force overtime as Terrell Brown drove in from the right wing for a layup with 11 seconds to go in regulation.
In the overtime period though, it was all Drew for the most part. The Rangers outscored the Devils by an 11-6 margin in the extra session. Drew got going early as center Dylan Bulger scored on a hook shot with just 13 seconds gone by for a 68-66 lead. Mayes then handed out an assist on a three pointer from the left corner by Tony Ganter for a 71-66 lead with 4:15 to go. FDU-Florham continued to fight though as the Devils scored six of the next eight points including a field goal at the 3:12 mark, two free throws by Adam Katz at the 2:54 mark, and a steal for a layup by Martin Johnson to pull within one at 73-72 with 2:26 left.
FDU-Florham had a chance to take the lead or tie after Bulger missed a one and one with 1:49 to play, but Fetske’s layup attempt rimmed out, and Biancosino misfired on a three point attempt. Mayes then increased the lead to five at 77-72 with two appearances at the foul line that produced one of two charity shots with 35.9 seconds remaining. FDU-Florham could not get any closer as the Rangers won the Battle of Madison Avenue, 77-72. While Drew had a lot of size down low along with quick and athletic guards, FDU-Florham impressed me with their resiliency. Fetske has come a long way in two years, and really played well. Biancosino got off to a slow start, but heated up toward the end of the first half.
The duo of Mike Mayes and Terrell Brown did a solid job for the Rangers by combining for 36 of the team’s 77 points. It was quite an intense atmosphere in the gym. First, it was a packed house with plenty of students coming down the road from FDU-Florham. The Drew Zoo was very hostile, and made inbounds plays interesting in the second half. Andrew Biancosino had Drew fans right at his back when he inbounded the ball. However, Biancosino wasn’t fazed as he inbounded to Fetske for a layup early in the second half. Both teams hustled and played very hard, but didn’t really shoot well in the first half.
Drew was just 13 of 31 from the floor while FDU-Florham was just 10 of 26. However, the Devils were the better of the two teams in the second half shooting 47 precent while Drew maintained its first half pace going 12 of 29. In the overtime though, the Rangers pulled out the win with a 57.1 percent shooting effort while limiting FDU-Florham to just 25 percent. A more detailed article on this game will be forthcoming. In the meantime, see more details and the box score on the game via Drew’s web site.
On Friday afternoon, GMC Hoops will be heading over to Allentown, Pennsylvania for the Scotty Wood Tournament at Muhlenberg College, where William Paterson will be facing off against Moravian.