GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – A 9-2 second half by top-ranked Adelphi was the difference as the Panthers took a 15-6 victory over Bentley University in Northeat-10 men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon. It was the regular season finale for both teams.

Despite the defeat, the Falcons finish the regular season with a 7-4 Northeast-10 record and will be the No. 4 seed in the Northeast-10 Men's Lacrosse Championship. They will host the No. 5 seed Southern New Hampshire on Tuesday night.

The Falcons gave Adelphi everything they could handle in the first half, trailing just 6-4 after 30 minutes. But the Panthers scored eight goals in a row from the start of the third quarter to the 11:57 mark of the fourth quarter to pull away.

The game was tied 2-2 after the first quarter on the strength of two goals by midfielder Steve Caditz (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island). His goals came at the 5:56 and 0:47 marks.

Adelphi scored three straight goals in the first four-plus minutes of the second quarter, which included two straight by attacker Salvatore Tuttle, who finished the afternoon with a game-high six goals. But Bentley fought back with two straight of its own. A man-up goal by freshman David Phelps (Bedford, N.H./Bedford) and an even-strength goal by senior Nick Astarita (Bedford, N.H./Bishop Guertin) with 25 seconds remaining made the deficit just 5-4.

However, the Panthers received a goal from senior Greg Puskuldjian with just seven seconds left in the half to take a 6-4 lead into the break.

Adelphi then jumped out to a 9-4 lead after scoring three goals in the first 4:46 of the third quarter, including a man-up goal by junior Nick Susko. Though the Falcons were able to keep them off the scoreboard for the next nine minutes, they could not score themselves. Adelphi added to its lead with four goals in the last 3:20 of the third quarter to lead 12-4 going into the fourth frame.

Astarita added his second goal of the game for Bentley in the fourth quarter, his sixth of the season overall.

Tuesday's first round playoff game against Southern New Hampshire will get started at 7:00 pm.