SCRANTON, Pa. – The Drew University men's lacrosse team trailed just 9-5 at halftime, but the University of Scranton sued a big second half to hand the Rangers a 24-8 setback in Landmark Conference men's lacrosse action Wednesday evening.
 
Senior Craig Wilkie scored three goals for the Rangers (5-8, 0-3 LC) while junior Brett Spafford posted two goals and one assist. Junior GJ Nazziola finished 15-for-30 on faceoffs for Drew.
 
Kyle Holmes scored four goals to lead the Royals (9-5, 3-1 LC).
 
The Rangers got on the scoreboard in the opening quarter when senior defenseman Jack Tynan scored just over two minutes into the game, then took a 2-1 lead when Spafford converted a feed from junior Alex Higgins with 6:01 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
Scranton tied it up less than a minute later, but sophomore Mike DeMayo scored 16 seconds after the goal to put Drew up 3-2. But the Royals took the lead for good with back-to-back goals and led 4-3 at the end of the period.
 
The hosts continued their run with the first three tallies of the second quarter to push their lead to four. Spafford scored again with 6:07 on the clock, then set up junior Matt Giordano for a man-up goal that cut the deficit to 8-5 with 3:29 showing. But the Royals answered just over a minute later to assume their four-goal halftime advantage.
 
Scranton went on to net the first 13 goals of the second half before Wilkie scored three times in the final four minutes for the Rangers.
 
Drew continues its season on Saturday, when it takes on Catholic University at 1 p.m. on Senior Day.