MADISON, N.J. – Both teams shot over 50% from the floor, but The University of Scranton men's basketball team (4-14, 2-9 Landmark) dropped a 103-76 decision to the Drew Rangers (15-3, 8-3 Landmark) in Landmark Conference action on Wednesday night at Baldwin Gym in Madison.

Drew led 9-6 in the early stages of the contest before using a trio of three-pointers that stretched the lead to 18-6 at the 13:47 mark of the first half. Sophomore Teddy Spratt (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) helped the Royals respond with five of the team's eight points during an 8-0 spurt that cut the deficit to four at 18-14 with 11:56 left in the opening stanza. From there, the Rangers embarked on a 22-8 run over the next five plus minutes which made it a 40-22 game and the hosts eventually took a 57-27 lead into the locker room.

The hot shooting continued for Drew in the second half, but Scranton fought for all 40 minutes and got eight points from junior Colin Merriman (Mount Laurel, N.J./Camden Catholic) over the final 4:24 of the contest.

Spratt led all scorers with a career-high 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while sophomore Luca Baratta (Richboro, Pa./Perkiomen School) added 15 on 6-of-9 shooting (3-of-4 3PT) and junior Cameron Khoza (State College, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) added nine points and seven boards.

Pat Higgins had 19 points to pace Drew and both Andrew Turco and Josh Kline added 13 apiece.

Scranton shot 52.6% (30-of-57) from the field and 37.5% (6-of-16) from beyond the arc on the night. Drew was 33-of-62 (53.2%) from the floor and 14-of-34 (41.2%) from long range.

The Rangers held a slight 30-29 edge on the glass as Khoza led the Royals with seven boards and Spratt added six.

The Royals are back in action on Saturday afternoon at Goucher with opening tip set for 2 p.m.

--ROYALS--