NEW ORLEANS, LA. - Lander Men's Rugby come up short in the final match of their National Championship Tournament, the College Rugby Championship "May Madness 7s" in New Orleans, LA.

The day started with a semifinal matchup against Southern Rugby Conference and in-state rival, The Citadel.  This is the 4th match-up of these two teams this Spring season, The Citadel leads the series 1-2, with the Bearcats taking the victory in the last matchup 28-0.  The stakes couldn't be much higher with the winner heading to the National Championship Final.  The Bearcats jumped out early with a Cam Smith try and Tomas Mussi conversion.  The result of an inspired defense, Lander quickly regains possession and after a well-timed pass from Eric Burkett, Mussi finds space and takes the ball 85 meters for a try and conversion.  To close out the half Mussi finds the try zone one more time and the Bearcats have a halftime lead of 19-0.  

In the second half, The Citadel shows their character and resolve to fight back and they are able to score two unanswered tries and bring the score to 19-12 in the closing minutes.  Lander's defense steps up big and forces a knock-on to end the match and claim the victory 19-12.  Lander will now face Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the Championship match.   "The Citadel has a great program and a great group of men, while they are our rivals, we have a great relationship with them,"  Said Coach Buck Billings. "Our teams have the highest respect for each other and after the match they told us they would be pulling for us in the final.  One of my favorite memories of the weekend was watching our two teams say the Lord's prayer together before the Semifinal match."

The Championship match got off to a similar start for the blue and gold as the semifinal, Smith gave a highlight reel try, after several broken tackles, and Mussi converted to make it 7-0.  The momentum was going in the direction of Lander as they regained possession on a not-releasing penalty and took the ball down the pitch.  IUP had an intentional knockoff and yellow card, how would Lander respond to the power play.  The Bearcats elected to kick to touch and take the lineout 10 meters from the try line.  After the Bearcats won their lineout, the Crimson Hawks forced a not releasing penalty and were able to stifle the momentum being built by the Bearcats.  The halftime score was 7-0.

The second half became a defensive battle for Lander and unfortunately, errors and fatigue were mounting against the Bearcats.  In the closing minutes of the match after minutes of possession, the Crimson Hawks break the gain line and score their first try of the match with an ensuing conversion.  We have a tie match and less than two minutes to play.  Lander loses the ball back to IUP and they are able to score in the corner to take their last lead of the match with 40 seconds left to play, 7-12 Crimson Hawks.  Lander will receive the kickoff and have one last chance to win the title.  IUP is able to regain the kickoff and put together three successful offloads to score a closing try on the last play of the match.  The Bearcats come up short 7-19.

"I'm incredibly proud of these young men, while we didn't get the result we wanted, we fought hard and just got outplayed by a good IUP team.  Our team has worked hard and been consistent all Spring and really had a great season.  We've got a lot to build on for the Fall and a great recruiting class to add depth and more.  I hope these young men don't let the disappointment cloud their perspective and keep them from appreciating their accomplishments."