Outing, Miles Split 50 Points in OT Loss to Rangers

TOWSON, Md. — It was Goucher's inside game against Drew's long-range marksmanship on display tonight in front of an enthusastic crowd of 484 spectators in the Decker Sports & Recreation Center.

And 40 minutes wasn't enough to settle anything as the game between two teams each hoping to hang on to a share of first place in the Landmark Conference went into overtime.

Chris Outing (New Windsor, N.Y./James I. O'Neill), who was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field working mostly in the paint, supplied the Gophers with 25 points before committing his fifth foul with just under four minutes remaining in regulation. Kevin Miles (District Heights, Md./Gwynn Park) matched Outing's total, thanks to the four points he tallied during the five-minute extra session.

Drew's Kevin Herring II led all scorers as he knocked down 30 points. He and Mike Klinger, who added 25 points, were a combined 11-for-19 from 3-point range for the Rangers.

Goucher scored 44 points in the paint; Drew countered with 14 3-pointers for a total of 42 points.

In the end, long-distance precision won out as the Rangers prevailed, 90-83, in overtime.

The Gophers (1-7, 1-1 Landmark) led by as many as 15 points on two different occasions in the first half, the second time when Outing canned two free throws to put his team up 43-28 with 5:22 remaining in the period. The rest of the way, however, the Rangers (5-2, 2-0 Landmark) reeled off 14 unanswered points and were down by just a point at the break.

The two teams were never separated by more than six points at any time in the second half, during which the score was tied eight different times and the lead changed hands on six occasions.

A 3-pointer by Ozan Yucetepe staked Drew to a 69-63 advantage with 4:43 remaining in regulation, but Miles sliced Goucher's deficit in half when he connected on a 3-pointer just 15 seconds later.

The seventh tie of the second half and 11th of the contest occurred when Miles stole the ball and cashed it in at the other end in the form of a layup, evening the score at 70-70. The Gophers took a brief 71-70 lead on a made free throw by Zachary Hall (Catonsville, Md./Catonsville) with 34.1 seconds remaining.

After Brian McLaughlin of the Rangers tied it up by making 1-of-2 free throws with 32.3 seconds showing on the clock, the Gophers held for a final shot, but couldn't get one off before time expired.

Drew's first possession of OT ended with a 3-point basket by Klinger, but Goucher answered with a 3-pointer by Hall. The Rangers, however, went ahead to stay when they got the ball back and Yucetepe landed a 3-pointer.

A third make from 3-point range in OT, this one by Steve Hydzik, put Drew up 81-75 midway through the OT period. Down the stretch, the Rangers maintained their lead by going 7-of-8 at the free-throw stripe.

By winning, Drew assumes an 8-7 edge in the all-time series between the two teams, who will meet again in Madison, N.J. on January 24.

Goucher's next game will be played against Gallaudet next Saturday in the nation's capital. Tip-off is set for 12 noon.