MACON, Ga. – Redshirt-junior Evan Tyler and freshman Brendan McKenna combined for 10 goals to help the Jacksonville University men's lacrosse team close out the regular season in style with a 20-12 victory at Mercer, Saturday afternoon at Five Star Stadium. The win marks the Dolphins' third-straight W heading into the Southern Conference Tournament next weekend at High Point.
 
Chasing records with eight points on the day, Tyler powered his way to a new career-high performance and tied for JU's third-most points in a single-game, while McKenna knocked in five goals, including three in the fourth quarter, to lead the Dolphins' high-powered offense.
 
Both Tyler and sophomore Jack Dolan are within six points of the Dolphins' single-season record of 52, set by Ryan Serville during Jacksonville's inaugural season in 2010. Tyler currently sits at third all-time with 47 points this season, while Dolan, who scored a goal and dished three assists this afternoon, is two away from passing Serville for the program record.

"Today was a great opportunity for us to learn about our deficiencies and get better together as a team as we head into postseason play," commented head coach John Galloway following the game. "I'm really proud of our offensive output in a game where we didn't win the possession battle. Led by an eight-point effort from Evan Tyler and five goals from Brendan McKenna, we were able to balance out the faceoff game. Our first midfield of Evan Tyler, Jack Dolan, and Jeremy Winston gave us the motor to get to 20 goals. Defensively, we were exposed in various areas. For us to continue our dream of a championship, we need to come to work tomorrow with a warrior's mentality on that side of the ball. We are now in May lacrosse, and only the best will survive. I'm exicted for this group to show we are ready to be the best us possible." 

Playing in front of their friends and family for Senior Day, Mercer (1-12, 1-6 SoCon) used that momentum to jump out to a 4-1 run just 4:28 into the game. Not to be deterred, Jacksonville showed its resilience with a 10-2 run leading up to halftime, as Tyler recorded six of his eight points during that run for an 11-6 Dolphin lead at the break.
 
Though the hosts attempted to string a run together, the Dolphins' defense did not allow the Bears to score more than one goal without feeding the offense for an answer. In the final 4:32 of the third quarter, Dolan handed out assists to Tyler (4:32) and freshman Jack Pucci (0:09) around his own goal at 3:47.

Between the pipes, junior Hunter Sells recorded seven saves and picked up four ground balls and caused two turnovers. Freshman Jordan Young added three ground balls and one caused turnover. Redshirt-sophomore Tommy Barnhorst (2 GBs, 2 CTs) and freshman Troy Hettinger (3 GBs, 1 CT) combined for five ground balls and three caused turnovers. 
 
Led by McKenna's hat trick in the fourth, Jacksonville shut the door on Mercer for the 20-12 win and to clinch the #4 seed in the SoCon Tournament.
 
The Dolphins will face the #1 seed and tournament host, High Point in the SoCon Tournament semifinal at HPU's Vert Stadium on Thursday, May 2 at 5:30 p.m.