MARIETTA, Ga. — In a grueling defensive battle that required seven periods to decide, the No. 4 SCAD men's lacrosse team fell 12-11 in triple overtime to No. 5 Reinhardt in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament semifinals Friday afternoon at Lupo Family Field at Life University.
The Bees (14-4) entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the tournament, earning a bye in the quarterfinals for the first time in program history, while the Eagles (9-3) held the No. 3 seed. Despite a dominant first half and a late fourth-quarter rally to force extra time, SCAD fell 12-11 in the third overtime period.
HOW IT HAPPENED: The contest began as a back-and-forth affair, with the teams ending the first quarter in a 3-3 deadlock.
Mason Hickman opened the scoring for the Bees, followed by strikes from
Sebastian Manuel and
Noah Moreland to keep pace with the opposition.
SCAD seized control in the second frame, outscoring the Eagles 5-1 to build an 8-4 advantage heading into the halftime break. Hickman added a second quarter hat trick, while
Jonathan O'Bryant Graves and Manuel contributed a score to give the Bees significant momentum.
The momentum shifted in the third quarter as the Eagles began to chip away at the lead, outscoring the Bees 4-2 in the period. Hickman scored both goals during the frame to maintain a 10-8 lead, but the defensive pressure intensified.
In the final period of regulation, the Eagles scored three unanswered goals to take their first lead since the opening minutes. With just over two minutes remaining and the season on the line, Hickman connected on a clutch game-tying goal, assisted by Moreland, to knot the score at 11-11 and force overtime.
Both defenses stood tall through two scoreless four-minute overtime periods, with neither side able to find the winner. However, with 1:08 remaining in the third overtime, the Reinhardt finally broke through to secure the victory and advance to the AAC Championship.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: The Bees' offense was led by
Mason Hickman, who finished with a game-high eight points on seven goals and one assist.
Jonathan O'Bryant Graves recorded four points with one goal and three assists.
Sebastian Manuel,
Noah Moreland, and
Travis Cheristin all contributed with two points each. Manuel totaled two goals, Moreland had one goal and one assist, while Cheristin added two assists to the offensive tally.
Defensively,
Keaton Melcher was impressive in the cage, racking up 11 saves to keep the Bees in contention.
Conor Marr led the team with three caused turnovers to go with three ground balls, while
Levi Henning totaled two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
Lucas Martinez had a team-high five ground balls on the day.
WHAT'S NEXT? The Bees will now await the announcement of the 2026 NAIA Men's Lacrosse National Championship field. The selection show is scheduled for Monday, May 4, at 5:00 p.m., with the national tournament set to begin on May 12 in Decatur, Alabama.
