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Pioneers tumble on road against Lenoir-Rhyne

Pioneers tumble on road against Lenoir-Rhyne

HICKORY, N.C. --- Lenoir-Rhyne University defeated Tusculum University 21-3 in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Moretz Stadium.

The Bears (1-5, 1-1 SAC) scored 12 consecutive goals from the midway point of the first quarter to the early part of the third quarter, and had a total of 14 different players score at least one goal in the victory.

The Pioneers (5-2, 1-1 SAC) had their five-game winning streak come to a halt as Nate Raymond, Sean Dunn and AJ Hems accounted for the Tusculum offense. The Bears outshot the Pioneers 53-29 and committed just five turnovers as a team while forcing Tusculum into 18 turnovers in the contest.

Joe Buduo had three goals and three assists to lead Lenoir-Rhyne, while Kyle Landis scored three goals and Mitchell Linklater added two goals and an assist. Chris Hawkins and Ryan Bell each scored twice and Eric Dickinson finished with a goal and two assist for the Bears.

Linklater opened the scoring just 13 seconds into the first quarter, and Bell made it 2-0 Lenoir-Rhyne after 1:41. Raymond scored off an assist from Keegan Bell to bring Tusculum within 2-1 with 11:38 left in the first quarter, but the Bears closed the period with four straight goals to go up 6-1.

Lenoir-Rhyne scored six times in the second quarter, with Hawkins scoring a pair, to take a 12-1 lead into halftime. Buduo scored twice in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the third quarter before Dunn broke the run with 11:30 left in the quarter. Hems added a goal late in the period, but the Bears scored the final five to close out the match.

Andy Michalski won seven faceoffs and had a team-high five ground balls for the Pioneers, with Bell, Dunn and Joel Edgar adding three apiece. For the Bears, Tyler Bane led with five ground balls and Connor Stanley had three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.

Tusculum won 17 of the 29 faceoffs in the match, led by Ethan Bohannon who was 6-for-8 at the dot along with Dunn who was 4-for-4. The Pioneers were 0-for-4 with the man advantage, while the Bears converted on their only attempt in the first quarter. Lenoir-Rhyne was 18-for-19 on clears, and Tusculum finished the match at 10-for-14.

Ross Geiger made 14 saves in goal for the Pioneers, while Noah Johnson came up with 17 saves on 20 shots on goal for the Bears.

Tusculum will be home to face Queens on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Pioneer Field.

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