MARS HILL, N.C. — Luke Bowen collected a career-high 11 points on five goals and six assists as Tusculum University pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 17-10 victory over Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference men’s lacrosse action Wednesday afternoon at Meares Stadium.
The Pioneers (5-2, 1-2 SAC) led 8-1 at halftime, then went on a 6-1 run in the fourth quarter after the Lions (1-7, 0-3 SAC) had pulled within 11-7 with just under 12 minutes to play. Tusculum improved its road record to 5-1 with the win, tying the 2021 team for most road wins in a season in program history.
The 11 points from Bowen surpassed his previous career high of 10 set three times last season, and are tied for the second-most in a game in program history along with Jordan Daniel (2023), Clay Mendez (2024) and Ben Royer (2025).
Tysen Fontenla had three goals for the Pioneers, with two goals and an assist apiece from Royer and Ben Hobday. Mendez added a goal and three assists, and both Zach Afalla and Jayden Rios had a goal and an assist. Also scoring for the Pioneers were Preston Stewart and Traford Couchman as Tusculum scored on 17 of its 26 shots on goal. The Pioneers were 30-for-34 on clears and turned the ball over 21 times.
Caleb Nelson led the Lions with three goals, with two goals and an assist for Aiden McNamara and Ben Hokenson. Mars Hill outshot Tusculum 45-33 in the match, but just 25 of their shot attempts were on target. The Lions were 27-for-31 on clears and had 24 turnovers in the contest.
Bowen scored twice in the first 8 1/2 minutes to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead, and Fontenla added a goal with 3:50 left in the first quarter to stretch the Tusculum lead to 3-0 after one period. The Pioneers would stretch their lead to 7-0 following a goal from Fontenla with 8:19 left in the first half, before the Lions got on the board on a goal from Hokenson with 6:25 to go. Fontenla would add his third of the day with 3:55 remaining to give the Pioneers an 8-1 lead at intermission.
The teams exchanged goals for the first eight minutes of the third quarter before goals from Jake Mannix and Dillon Buran cut the Tusculum lead to 10-5 with 3:19 left in the period. Mendez would put the Pioneers up 11-5 on his first of the day with 1:47 remaining in the quarter, but two goals from the Lions in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter brought Mars Hill within 11-7. Bowen took over in the fourth for the Pioneers, piling up three goals and two assists in the final 7 1/2 minutes.
Rios had 11 faceoff wins and 10 ground balls for the Pioneers, with three ground balls apiece for Afalla and Blake Harrison. AJ Howland led the Lions with eight ground balls and went 17-for-27 on faceoffs, with six ground balls for Carter Semple. Tusculum was 0-for-1 with the extra man while Mars Hill finished 1-for-7 with the man advantage in the match. Mars Hill had a 17-12 edge in faceoffs over Tusculum.
Garrett Smith played nearly the entire game for the Pioneers and had a career-high 15 saves, with Xavier Wells collecting nine saves for the Lions.
Tusculum will be back in action on Tuesday, March 24 at Anderson, beginning at 7 p.m. The Trojans are ranked second in Division II entering the week after opening the season with seven straight victories.
