LOWELL, MASS.- Brian Russell and Dawson Rielly combined for 10 points on Saturday to help the Bryant men's lacrosse team earn a 17-12 victory over the UMass Lowell River Hawks at Cushing Field.

With the win, the Black and Gold improve to 5-1 in America East play and 9-4 overall. The Bulldogs also officially secured a share of the America East Regular Season Championship and locked up the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. This marks the first America East Regular Season title in program history. The Bulldogs last regular season championship came back in 2016, when they shared the title with Saint Joseph's. It marks the first time since 2013 that the Black and Gold will host the conference tournament. Bryant will battle Binghamton in the America East Semifinals on Thursday, May 1st. Face-off is set for 4:00 p.m. Tickets for Thursday's game will go on sale at noon on Sunday, April 27th and can be purchased HERE .

Brian Russell led the team in scoring finishing with six points (4g, 2a) on the day, tying his season high. Dawson Rielly recorded his eighth hat trick of the season, finishing with four goals against the River Hawks. Patrick Walsh, Owen West, and Jack Loninsger all put together multi-goal outings, as each finished with two goals.

Jordan Hernando put together a strong showing at the face-off X, winning 14-of-19 draws. Scott Einarson registered seven saves while allowing 11 goals.

Sam Klein and Jack McCloskey each posted a pair of caused turnovers, leading the Bulldogs defense. Drew Lucas also caused a turnover, moving him to just three caused turnovers away from tying the Division I career record of 85 (Matt Murnane, 2009-10).

Game Information
Bryant 17, UMass Lowell 12
Records: Bryant (9-4, 5-1 AE) | UMass Lowell (4-9, 1-5 America East)
Location: Cushing Field (Lowell, Mass.)

Key Moment

• After giving up eight goals in the first half, Bryant would go on a 4-1 run in the third quarter, quieting the River Hawk offense.

How it Happened

• Bryant came out swinging Saturday, striking first as Brian Russell scored the opening goal off a feed from John Tomsheck at 13:38 of the first quarter.
• UMass Lowell answered quickly, rattling off four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead, with tallies from Colby Frigon, Garrett Murphy, Johnny Soi, and Alex Lafreniere.
• The Bulldogs stayed composed and responded with a three-goal burst.
• Dawson Rielly scored back-to-back goals at 3:04 and 2:22 to pull Bryant within one, before Owen West tied it at 4-4 just over a minute later on a setup from Russell.
• A quick second quarter bust from Zac Amend and Dawson Rielly helped push the Bulldogs to a two-goal lead with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half.
• Bryant and UML then exchanged goals for the next three minutes, raising the score to 8-6. 
• The River Hawks knotted up the score at 8-8 as a result of a Griffin Sumwalt man-up goal and a quick score by Soi.
• Patrick Walsh scored an unassisted goal at the 3:29 mark of the second quarter, sparking a 3-0 run for the Bulldogs. 
• Brian Russell completed his hat trick at the 2:49 mark of the first half netting an unassisted goal.
• Luca Elmaleh capped off the half with a quick score near the cage thanks to a feed from John Tomsheck at 1:40.
• The Bulldogs opened the third quarter with back-to-back scores.
• Jack Lonsinger scored off a dish from Russell at 12:01 and Rusell made good on an assist from Amend at 10:34.
• UMass Lowell's lone goal of the third quarter came from Danny Burke, who found the back of the cage at 8:15.
• The Black and Gold tacked on two more scores in the quarter. Owen West scored at 3:27 and John Tomsheck at 2:51.
• Brian Russell tallied his fourth goal of the day at the 14:00 mark in the fourth quarter.
• Minutes later, Jack Lonsinger found the back net after a quick dump pass from West set him up for an easy shot on the right side of the crease at 11:40.
• The River Hawks went on a 3-0 run to end the game, but it would prove to not be enough as Bryant held on to win 17-12.

Stats

• The Bulldogs held a dominant 56-28 advantage in shots, and led 31-19 in shots on goal.
• Bryant had 12 turnovers on the day, while UMass Lowell committed 14 turnovers.
• The Bulldogs won the face-off margin, going 20-of-32 at X.
• The Black and Gold finished a perfect 17-of-17 on clear attempts.
• Bryant finished the afternoon with nine caused turnovers and nine assists.
• Brian Russell led the team in scoring with six points (4g, 2a). He also recorded a caused turnover.
• Dawson Rielly finished with four goals on seven shots on goal.
• Owen West and Jack Lonsinger both finished with three points, recording identical stat lines (2g, 1a).
• Tomsheck finished with three points of his own (1g, 2a).
• Sam Klein and Jack McCloskey each had two caused turnovers on the defensive end.
• Jordan Hernando won 14-of-19 face-offs at X.
• Scott Einarson made seven saves in cage.

Game Notes

• Bryant improves to 4-0 in the all-time series with UMass Lowell.
• The Bulldogs finish the regular season at 9-4 overall and a 5-1 record against America East opponents.
• The Black and Gold secured a share of the America East Regular Season title with UMBC after defeating Lowell on Saturday.
• Bryant clinched the No. 1 seed in the America East Playoffs over UMBC as result of a head-to-head victory on Mar. 29.
• The Black and Gold claim their first regular season championship since 2016.
• The Bulldogs will host the America East Tournament for the first time since joining the conference.
• Bryant last hosted a conference tournament in 2013 when it was still a member of the NEC.
• Rielly recorded his eighth hat trick and 10th multi-goal game of the season.
• Russell logged his second hat trick and sixth multi-goal game of the season.
• Walsh tallied his fourth multi-goal game of the season.
• West posted his third multi-goal effort of the year.
• Lonsinger registered his fourth multi-goal game of the year.
• Hernando finishes with double-digit face-off wins for the ninth time this year.
• After recording a caused turnover today, Drew Lucas is now only three 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
Top-seeded Bryant will host fourth-seeded Binghamton in the America East Semifinals on Thursday, May 1. Face-off is set for 4:00 p.m.