SMITHFIELD, R.I.- JJ Murphy won 20-of-27 faceoffs while Dawson Rielly and Zac Amend tallied hat tricks helping the Bryant men's lacrosse team to a 13-12 victory over the Binghamton Bearcats on Senior Day.

With the win, the Black and Gold improve to 4-1 in America East play and  8-4 overall. The Bulldogs also officially clinch a spot in the 2025 America East Conference playoffs. Bryant will close out the regular season at UMass Lowell on Saturday, Apr. 26. Face-off is set for 12:00 p.m.

Brian Russell led the team in scoring finishing with four points (2g, 2a) on the day. Dawson Rielly recorded his seventh hat trick of the season, finishing with three goals against the Bearcats. Amend logged the fifth hat trick of his breakout rookie season tallying three goals while also scooping three ground balls.

JJ Murphy put together a phenomenal showing at the faceoff X, winning 20-of-27 draws and collecting 11 ground balls. Scott Einarson registered double-digit assists for the eighth time this year, ending the day with 13 against Binghamton.

Tanner Alexander led non-faceoff specialists with seven ground balls. He and Drew Lucas would each record two caused turnovers on the day. With a pair of CT's today Lucas is now just four caused turnovers away from tying the Division I career record of 85 (Matt Murnane, 2009-10).

Game Information
Bryant 13, Binghamton 12
Records: Bryant (8-4, 4-1 AE) | Binghamton (4-8, 2-3 America East)
Location: Beirne Stadium (Smithfield, R.I.)
Key Moment

• Bryant outscored Binghamton 5-1 in the third quarter, allowing them to overcome a halftime deficit and build a three goal lead heading into the fourth quarter.
• JJ Murphy won a critical faceoff at 1:17, allowing the Bulldogs to run out the clock and preserve a 13–12 victory.

How it Happened

• The Bulldogs struck early on Saturday as Zac Amend created space with a swim move near the crease and stuck a shot in the top shelf of the cage just 57 seconds into the game.
• Max Dantona extended Bryant's lead to 2-0 after rifling a shot past Binghamton's Connor Winters at 12:28.
• Binghamton's Colin DeLay broke the shutout at 10:27 in the first with an unassisted goal.
• Dawson Rielly received a pass from Patrick Walsh and scored at 8:34 in the first, crashing toward the right side of the cage and burying a shot in the top right corner.
• Brian Russell would score a highlight reel goal with 5:27 remaining in the opening quarter. Owen West set up the play with a touch pass to Russell who absorbed contact and shoveled a no-look behind the back shot past Binghamton's goalie.
• With time expiring in the first, the Bearcats' Gavin Jacobsen closed out the first with an unassisted goal.
• At the 13:20 mark of the second quarter, Liam Ferris found Andrew Girolamo for a Binghamton score, narrowing Bryant's lead to one.
• Defenseman Drew Lucas expanded his skillset and assisted Dawson Rielly for his second goal of the day at 12:13 in the second.
• John Tomsheck dished a pass to Luca Elmaleh who stepped through and fired home his ninth goal of the year.
• Beginning at the 7:28 mark of the second, the Bearcats would go on a 4-0 scoring run that spanned 6:32 and held Bryant scoreless for the remainder of the half. As a result of the offensive surge, Binghamton would go into the half leading 7-6.
• Bryant was hot coming out of the break, scoring the first two goals of the second half.
• Tomsheck found Russell who sidearmed a shot past Winters to tie the score at 7-7.
• The Black and Gold reclaimed the lead at 12:45 in the third after Russell fed Rielly who stepped into a jump shot, firing the ball into the right side of the cage.
• Binghamton knotted up the score again as a result of a Dan Garnone goal that was assisted by Nick Cartmill at 9:09 in the third.
• On a man-up opportunity with 4:25 to play, Russell assisted Dantona on his second goal of the day.
• Patrick Walsh wrapped a shot around a Binghamton defender at 1:38 in the third. Dantona would be credited with the assist on the play.
• With the clock winding down in the third, Amend raced from behind the cage and scored a contested goal with four seconds remaining. 
• Binghamton's Ferris scored on a man-up goal at 9:59 in the fourth quarter and cut Bryant's lead to two goals.
• The Bulldogs quickly regained momentum as Jack Lonsinger (9:20) and Zac Amend (8:12) logged back to back scores.
• The Bearcats went on one final rally at the end of the game, scoring three goals to make it a one score game.
• Bryant was able to close it out after JJ Murphy won a critical faceoff at 1:17 and allowed the Bulldogs to bleed the remaining clock.

Stats

• The Bearcats held a 41-37 edge in shots, and led 26-22 in shots on goal.
• Bryant had 17 turnovers on the day, while Binghamton committed six turnovers.
• Bryant held a dominant 39-19 edge in ground balls.
• The Bulldogs won the faceoff margin, going 21-of-29 at X.
• The Black and Gold finished a perfect 19-of-19 on clear attempts.
• Bryant finished the afternoon with five caused turnovers and 10 assists.
• Brian Russell led the team in scoring with four points (2g, 2a). He also scooped three ground balls.
• Rielly and Zac Amend both tallied hat tricks with three goals apiece.
• Max Dantona finished with three points (2g, 1a).
• Tanner Alexander and Drew Lucas each had two caused turnovers on the defensive end.
• JJ Murphy won 20-of-27 face-offs at X and collected 11 ground balls.
• Einarson made 13 saves in cage.

Game Notes

• Bryant improves to 4-0 in the all-time series with Binghamton.
• The Bulldogs finish 4-2 at home in the regular season. They were a perfect 3-0 against conference opponents.
• Rielly recorded his seventh hat trick and ninth multi-goal game of the season.
• Amend tallied his fifth hat trick and seventh multi-goal game of the year.
• Russell logged his fifth multi-goal game of the season.
• Dantona posted his third multi-goal performance of the season.
• Einarson logged his eighth double-digit save performance of the season and the 14th of his career.
• Einarson has tallied 30 saves in just two games against Binghamton. In 2024, he recorded a career high 17 saves against the Bearcats, earning him conference rookie of the week honors.
• Murphy recorded 20 or more faceoff wins for the second time this season. He has recorded double-digit wins at X in seven games this year.
• After recording two caused turnovers today, Drew Lucas is now only four CT's shy of tying Matt Murnane's (2009-10) Division I school record of 85. Lucas is second all-time in DI program history with 81 CT's.

Up Next
Bryant will close out the regular season next Saturday when it travels to UMass Lowell for a Saturday afternoon bout with the Riverhawks. Faceoff is set for 12:00 p.m