Farmingdale State - 88, Drew - 84
Farmingdale, N.Y. - Junior guard Matthew Graham (Valley Stream, N.Y.) scored a career-high 28 points as Farmingdale State opened the season with an 88-84 victory over Drew University.
The Rams (1-0) controlled the first half by shooting 42-percent from the field and 40-percent from behind the arc as they took a 48-25 lead into halftime.
Trailing 58-42 with 13:03 remaining, the Rangers (0-1) used a 3 from junior guard Darius Reiter (Littleton, Colo.) and four straight points by sophomore guard Riley Collins (Lacey, N.J.) to cut the deficit to nine, 58-49.
After an Eriq Williams (Valley Stream, N.Y.) offensive rebound and layup put Farmingdale State ahead, 64-55, Drew answered with a 10-2 run to close within one, 66-65, with 6:34 left on the clock. The Rams followed with a free-throw by Williams and a Graham 3-pointer to bring the advantage back to five.
With 2:27 remaining and FSC on top 77-72, Graham connected on a 3 and senior guard Liam Monaghan (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.) followed by converting two at the free-throw line to extend the lead to 10.
The Rangers were down 84-75 with 1:41 left to play and used a 7-0 run capped off by a Collins jumper over the next 1:19 to pull within two, 84-82. Graham and Monaghan were each a perfect 2-for-2 at the line down the stretch the seal the 88-84 non-conference victory.
Graham recorded his career-best 28 points on 9-of-19 shooting, including 6-of-10 from behind the arc to go along with a team-high five assists. Monaghan tied a career-high with 22 points (11-of-12 from free-throw line) and Williams tallied a double-double on 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
Drew was led by Riley's 26 points (8-for-16) and senior guard Yonathan Napoleon (Los Angeles, Calif.) who totaled 20 points, six boards and six assists. Junior forward Nate Aldrich (Franklinville, N.J.) had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Farmingdale State next will travel to St. Joseph's-Brooklyn for a Skyline Conference game on Tuesday, November 21st at 7:00 p.m.
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