GREENWOOD - While the Lander Men's Rugby team fought hard in front of a large home crowd, the 11th ranked Belmont Abbey Crusaders were too strong as they came away with a 61-5 win on Friday evening at New Res Field.

It wasn't until the 15-minute mark that Belmont Abbey was able to get on the scoreboard, despite having possession inside Lander's 22-meter line.  Once they scored, they only needed several minutes to score again. 

Lander was able to get some possession going and was able to get in the try zone, but unfortunately, they were held up and Belmont Abbey was able to retain the in-goal dropout.  It seemed that the Bearcats' defense were going to keep them in the match, but the Crusaders got a couple of tries at the end of the first half to give them a 40-0 halftime lead.

Lander would not be deterred and was able to get a score, by Logan Lorch, early in the second half on a lineout maul.  The conversion kick was no good, but the Bearcats got some much-needed momentum along with the points.

In the second half we were able keep more possession and get close to scoring several times, but the visitors were too stingy on defense and finished the match with the 61-5 scoreline.

Coach Billings had this to say after the match, "It was not the outcome we had hoped for, but we did a lot of things well.  They showed why they are one of the top ranked D1-A programs in the country. I'm proud of our men for staying in the match and keeping their composure, despite the score.  We'll hopefully grow from the experience and go The Citadel this next week and earn a victory."

The match saw Brad McCaslan play most of the match at scrumhalf and he showed much improvement throughout the match.  

Additionally, Drew Patterson had a very good match at hooker up against the 2-time All Southern Rugby Conference hooker for Belmont Abbey. On the defensive side, Ethan Syswerda led the Bearcats in tackles.

Next up for the Bearcats is a trip to The Citadel next Sunday for a 1pm kick-off.