GREENWOOD - For the first time in program history, the Lander men's lacrosse team has claimed the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Title as it defeated Flagler College 14-11 on Saturday.
Lander also claimed its first PBC regular season title this season as well.
Lander concludes its season with a record of 13-4 overall while Flagler concludes the year with a record of 7-10 overall.
Nolan Oakey led the Bearcats in goals with three while Krew Conroy was the leader in points with five after scoring two goals and adding three assists.
Jake Watson collected six ground balls after winning 16 face-offs against the Saints while James Linn caused four turnovers and collected three ground balls.
Nicholas Paige made 10 saves as he collected his 11th win of the season.
The Bearcats took an early 2-0 lead after the first quarter. Lander put 10 of its 20 shots on target in the first frame of action.
Krew Conroy fired home the first goal of the game with 12:54 remaining on a pass from Kyle DeCrispino while DeCrispino made it a 2-0 game for Lander with 4:40 left in the first.
The Bearcats would score seven times in the second while Flagler would get four goals off.
Lander would once again put 10 shots on target.
Lander would go up 4-0 after Quinn Ingalls and Jeremy Wudrick scored before Flagler went on a two-goal streak to make it 4-2 with 11:05 left.
Conroy would stop the Saint's scoring spree with a goal off a pass from Ingalls before Flagler came back with another goal to make it 6-3 with 6:59 remaining.
DeCrispino and Wudrick would score back-to-back goals to give Lander a 7-3 edge before the Saints scored their fourth goal of the quarter with 3:59 left.
Oakey would fire home a pair of goals to conclude the half and give Lander a 9-4 lead going into halftime.
The Saints would catch fire in the third with five goals coming from the visitors compared to just one from Lander.
Flagler would score four consecutive goals to get within a goal of Lander before Adam Mather scored off a pass from Conroy to make it a 10-8 contest with 7:12 left in the third. A late goal from Flagler with 10 seconds left in the period made it a 10-9 game going into the final quarter.
The Bearcats would battle in the fourth as they would outscore Flagler 4-2 in the final frame. The Blue and Gold would put eight of their 12 shots on target in the final quarter.
Carter Wilcox put Lander in front by two goals with an early strike off a pass from Chance Hainey.
The Saints and Bearcats would trade goals for the first half of the quarter before Lander would establish a three-goal lead after Mather and Oakey scored with under five minutes to put Lander in front 14-11.
The Bearcats had five players named the all-tournament team with Krew Conroy named as the tournament MVP.
2023 PBC MLAX All-Tournament Team
Reid Vender
Jerry York
Nate Lehr
Logan Tobias
Thomas Pritcherd
James Linn
Adam Mather
Nolan Oakey
Jake Watson
Krew Conroy - Tournament MVP
Keep up to date with your Bearcats and never miss a moment of the action! Follow Lander athletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for continued updates! #cLawsUp
