ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - The Lander men's lacrosse team earned a share of the PBC Regular Season Title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming PBC Tournament with a 13-8 victory at Flagler on Saturday afternoon.
Lander moves to 10-3 overall and 4-0 in the PBC while Flagler drops to 5-9 overall and 3-1 in the PBC.
Nicholas Paige made a career-high 18 saves in the cage for the Bearcats as he kept the Blue and Gold on solid ground against the PBC's second-highest-scoring team. Paige also moves to 8-3 on the season.
Carter Wilcox and Nolan Oakey led the way with four goals each while Wilcox led the team in points with six. Oakey was second in points with five while Sean Reilly and Wilcox were tied with two assists each. Caedmon Ferrell collected a team-high five ground balls while seven Bearcats recorded a caused turnover.
Both Lander and Flagler would rattle off three goals each to begin the game. Paige would record five saves in the opening frame.
Lander would take an early lead with Wilcox firing home the opening goal with 13:48 left in the first. The Saints responded with two goals of their own to go up 2-1 with 10:46 remaining. The Bearcats would then see a man-up goal from Jeremy Wudrick and a goal from Kyle DeCrispino to put the Bearcats in front 3-2 but not before Flagler would tie the game at 3-3 with a strike with 2:52 left in the first.
Although allowing the Saints to score first in the second quarter, Lander would outscore Flagler 4-1 to take a 7-5 lead into the half.
The Bearcats put 7-of-10 shots on goal in the second quarter while Paige added four more saves to his tally.
After allowing the opening goal of the period, Lander would rattle off back-to-back goals from DeCrsipino and Krew Conroy to go up 5-4 before the Saints would tie the game for the final time at 5-5 with 9:09 left.
Wilcox would put Lander back in front while a man-down goal from Oakey gave Lander a 7-5 lead going into the half.
Both sides would take 11 shots in the third quarter with the Bearcats outscoring the Saints 4-3 to maintain the lead.
Oakey and Wilcox would get two goals on the scoreboard early in the second before a Flagler goal made it a 9-6 contest with 7:52 left in the third frame of action. Oakey would add another goal before Flagler scored back-to-back goals to get within two of Lander. Brady Foote would end the third quarter with a goal with three seconds remaining to put Lander up 11-8 going into the fourth.
The Bearcats would hold the Saints scoreless in the fourth quarter. Paige would make six saves in the final 15 minutes of play.
A man-up goal from Wilcox and a goal from Oakey were the two tallies for Lander in the fourth.
The Bearcats take a short rest from conference action as the No. 15/11 Limestone Saints come to Van Taylor Stadium on Thursday, April 20.
