NEW ORLEANS, La. – The fourth-seeded Lander men's rugby team bounced back from a pair of losses on Saturday to close the day with a victory over Loyola in the Collegiate Rugby Championship at the May Madness 7s event.

In the second-round match in the morning, the Bearcats fell behind 19-0 at halftime to top-seeded Army. Lander held the Black Knights to just seven points through the majority of the second half before Rolland Muzeya put the Bearcats on the board with a try. Army scored on the match's final play to make the final score 31-5. 

Against Wheeling, the Cardinals used a pair of turnovers to open the match with back-to-back scores and went on to earn a 33-0 victory over Lander. 

In the day's final action, Lander trailed Loyola 12-0 at halftime. Eric Burkett opened the second half with a try to cut the deficit to 12-5 and, following a Bearcat takeaway, Cam Smith raced in to pull Lander within two. Loyola was set to seal the match with a try, but Smith came up with a crucial tackle and Lander's defense held to take over possession in the waning moments. On the final play of the match, Burkett was wrapped up just shy of the goal line but offloaded the ball to Ben Schlappi who scored the winning try as Lander completed the rally for a 17-12 victory.

Lander concludes the tournament Monday morning with a match against Marian. 

#cLawsUp | @LanderRugby