SCRANTON, Pa. – The University of Scranton outscored the Drew University men's lacrosse team 7-2 in the second quarter and the third-seeded Royals topped the sixth-seeded Rangers 19-10 in the first round of the Landmark Conference Championship Tuesday evening.
 
The Rangers finished the season with a record of 10-8, marking their first double-digit victory season since 2012. Drew was also making its first postseason appearance in a non-COVID year for the first time since the 2017 season.
 
Junior Charlie Collins posted four goals and two assists to lead the Rangers while senior Kellum Foster-Palmer added two goals and one assist. Seniors GJ Nazziola and Jordan Wilson picked up four ground balls each, and freshman Joe Barnish made eight saves.
 
Kyle Holmes paced the Royals (19-10) with five goals and two arrests.
 
The start of the game was delayed four hours due to lightning.
 
Drew, making its first postseason appearance in a no-Covid season since 2017, led 3-1 in the early going following a pair of goals from Collins and one from sophomore Jake Cornelius. But Holmes scored with 19 seconds left in the opening quarter before Scranton posted its big second stanza to assume a 9-5 halftime advantage.
 
The Royals added a pair of goals to open the third quarter, but sophomore Colin Diodato and senior Kellum Foster-Palmer scored 37 second apart to make it an 11-7 game with 11:09 left in the period. A goal from Collins pulled the Rangers to within 12-8 with 9:54 on the clock, but Scranton used another run, this time a 3-0 spurt, to extend its lead to seven.
 
Drew scored the last goal of the third quarter and the first of the fourth period on goals from Collins and junior Joey Larmore, respectively, making it a 15-10 game. But Scranton iced the win with the last four goals of the evening.