MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa.—The home-standing Robert Morris Colonials closed with a strong defensive effort to turn back the Bellarmine Knights 12-9 in ASUN Conference lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon in Joe Walton Stadium.
 
After the Colonials opened the game with a goal just 33 seconds into the contest, the Knights rebounded with three straight scores and controlled the action until RMU re-took the lead in the early stages of the fourth quarter.  Bellarmine's offense was held scoreless the final 21:29 of the game as Robert Morris overcame a two-goal deficit and closed with a 5-0 scoring with the 3-goal final margin being the largest by either team.
 
The Knights were paced by Brayden Brown and Kyle Playsted.  Brown notched a hat trick and added an assist while Playsted score once and dished out three assists to tie Chase Williams for the school record for most assists in a season with 25.
 
Defensively, JC Higginbotham came up with 11 saves for the Knights, and Jon Robbins scooped up six ground balls and caused a turnover as he increased with team lead with 46 GBs and 33 CTs on the season. Freshman Brady Long registered two caused turnovers for the Knights.
 
The Colonials got a two-goal, four-assist effort from Dan Taddeo, and Taggart Clark posted a game-high four goals while adding an assist.  Goalie Ben Savick came on after the first quarter for RMU and surrendered just two goals while making seven stops to earn the victory for the Colonials.
 
Team statistics were close with RMU holding a four-shot edge in shots (35-31) and ground balls (32-28) while they earned one more faceoff win (13-12).
 
The Colonials improved to 2-0 in ASUN play and 6-4 overall.  The Knights slip to 3-10, 1-1 ASUN.
 
Bellarmine returns home for its next two contests, hosting Detroit Mercy on April 16 and Utah on April 23.  Both start times are scheduled for noon.
 
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