Hickory, N.C. – The fourth-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne Men's Lacrosse Team (12-1, 8-0) celebrated Senior Day in style with a 14-13 victory over Catawba (8-7, 4-4) Saturday afternoon in addition to clinching the outright South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship for the second straight year.

Lenoir-Rhyne freshman midfielder Eric Dickinson (Charlotte, N.C.) and senior forward Mike Hanlon (Haymarket, Va.) both scored four goals as the Bears won their 12th straight contest and improved to 22-1 in their last 23 games dating back to last year.

Dickinson has a league-leading 47 goals on the year and broke the school record for points (64) in a single season.  Dickinson added two assists as the Bears ran their winning streak in conference regular season play to 16 dating back two years.  Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore attacker Joe Buduo (Shrewsbury, Mass.) also notched two goals for the Bears.

Catawba's Liam Lynch (Marietta, Ga.) scored four times and the Indians nearly pulled off the upset.

Lenoir-Rhyne, the second-ranked team in the region, held a decisive 56-33 edge in shots taken and a 21-8 advantage in ground balls despite the close margin of victory.

Lenoir-Rhyne junior goalkeeper Ryan Crompton (Frederick, Md.) earned the win after stopping five shots while Catawba's Ryan Applegate (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) suffered the loss in goal despite making 21 saves on the day.

Lenoir-Rhyne will be the top seed in the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship and will play a semifinal round game on Thursday, April 27, in Charlotte, N.C., at 4:00 p.m.  Catawba is seeded fifth and will travel to fourth-seeded Queens on Tuesday for a quarterfinal contest.  The Bears will play the winner of the Royals and Indians' affair.