GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Anderson University earned a 28-9 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
The 15th-ranked Trojans (7-2, 4-0 SAC) scored the first seven goals of the match and built a 21-4 lead by halftime. Anderson outshot Tusculum 64-33 and had a 30-10 edge in faceoffs over the Pioneers.
Radyn Badraun, Ryan Bitterman and Matthew Rodgers each scored five goals for the Trojans, with four assists for Cole Sparks and two goals each from Ryan Butch, Aiden Dixon, Eli Marshall and Will Hazelhurst.
Ben Hobday led the Pioneers (3-7, 0-5 SAC) with three goals and Ben Royer added two goals and two assists. Preston Stewart scored twice, and Jayden Thomas and Tysen Fontenla each had a goal and an assist for the Pioneers.
Anderson led 7-0 after seven minutes and held a 7-2 lead after one quarter following Tusculum goals from Thomas and Royer. The Trojans piled up 14 goals in the second quarter, including runs of 5-0 and 8-0, to take a 21-4 lead at halftime.
The Trojans went up 24-4 early in the third quarter before backing off, and the Pioneers kept the Trojans scoreless for around 13 minutes while scoring three straight goals. Anderson would close the match with four of the final six goals, including the last one with 22 seconds left.
Ezequel Ceant had eight faceoff wins and five ground balls for the Pioneers, while Fontenla and Jamie Thomson each had four ground balls. Thomas had two caused turnovers along with Aiden Paczek, and Jesse Brown had three caused turnovers and three ground balls. For Anderson, AJ Rush and Dixon each had nine ground balls off faceoff wins, with Dixon collecting two goals and two assists.
Anderson went 4-for-5 with the extra man and Tusculum was 1-for-3 on the man-up. The Pioneers were 23-for-29 on clears and the Trojans were 21-for-26, with both teams committing 22 turnovers.
Brenden Pecora had eight saves in the first half for the Pioneers and Alex Germain made six stops in the second half. For Anderson, Adin Laughlin had six saves in the first half, Bobby Devenport made three stops in the third quarter and Nate Pepe collected two saves in the fourth.
The Pioneers visit Mars Hill on Saturday, March 29 at 3 p.m. The Lions, who play at Coker on Sunday, are 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
