PHILADELPHIA – Paced by junior goalkeeper T.J. Jones' 13 saves and junior Mike Lanham's 14 face-off wins, the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team downed Mount St. Mary's, 12-5, in the Northeast Conference regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon on Sweeney Field. The Hawks improve to 11-3 overall and finish 5-1 in the NEC while the Mountaineers end their season at 6-8 overall (2-4 NEC).

"To me, the story of the game was really two spots," said head coach Taylor Wray following SJU's 11th win of the season. "It was the face-off and T.J. Jones in goal. He has been a stopper for us all year and the backbone of our defense, and he made numerous point-blank, doorstep saves today. Mike Lanham dominating the face-off with his face-off crew and the wings, that was the difference. It allowed us to have the ball much of the first half and allowed us to jump out to a large lead, and that was really what separated us."

With the victory, Saint Joseph's claims a share of the 2016 NEC regular-season title and earns the right to host the 2016 NEC Championship on Sweeney Field, scheduled for next Thursday, May 5 and Saturday, May 7.

"We're excited to get the victory today and solidify the opportunity to host the conference tournament," added Wray. "There's nothing better than earning the right to play at home with your season on the line in front of your fans. I'm happy for our seniors to get a win here on Senior Day."

Senior midfielder Kevin Forster led all Hawks with a game-best four points on a game-best three goals and one assist while sophomore attackman Chris Blewitt (2g, 1a) and junior attackman Mike Rastivo (1g, 2a) recorded three points apiece.

Saint Joseph's jumped out to a 10-3 advantage by the halftime break, paced by five goals each quarter and an outstanding performance from Lanham, who went 10-for-14 over the first 30:00.

Junior defenseman Connor Kubikowski set the momentum for the Hawks, scoring just 15 seconds into the game before Forster (10:36) and junior midfielder Marcus Milione (7:56) followed up with goals of their own to put SJU up, 3-0, early on.

Following a Mount St. Mary's goal with 2:53 to play in the first quarter, junior midfielder Evan Wolf (0:15) and Blewitt (0:05) fired off back-to-back goals to close out the first 15:00 with the Hawks up, 5-1. 

Sophomore attackman Kyle Cain (7:52) and junior midfielder Anthony Joaquim (7:36) scored within 16 seconds of one another to open the second quarter scoring before the Mount score two of the next three goals to close its deficit to five, 8-3, heading into the final 5:55 before the halftime break.

However, Blewitt (4:11) and Rastivo (2:00) put away a pair of unassisted scores to open SJU's lead back out to seven, 10-3, to close out the second quarter.

There was a total of just four combined goals in the second half, and MSM's Will Hendrick scored the only goal of the third quarter (8:56) before Cain found Forster on an EMO just 22 seconds into the fourth to put SJU back up by seven, 11-4.

The Mountaineers battled back with a goal at the 14:00 mark to pull to within six, 11-5, but neither team would score again until 14 seconds remaining in the game, when junior midfielder Kevin Reidinger put away SJU's 12th goal of the day to close out the scoring.

For the game, Saint Joseph's held a 33-29 edge in shots, including a 22-16 first half, and won the fround ball battle 24-21. The Hawks also held the Mountaineers scoreless in four extra-man opportunities.

Lanham finished 14-of-18 from the circle and matched a game best five ground balls while senior defenseman John Winchell was good for three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Jones (11-3, 5-1 NEC) dominated in a 13-save effort between the pipes, which included a six-save third quarter in which he allowed just one goal. Jones also picked off a Mountaineers pass in front of the net to finish with a caused turnover to go with two ground balls.

Top-seeded Saint Joseph's will face fourth-seeded Robert Morris in the 2016 NEC Championship semifinals this upcoming Thursday, May 5 on Sweeney Field. Time of the opening face-off is to be determined. Stay tuned to SJUHawks.com for further information. 

GAME NOTES: The Hawks are now 17-1 all-time in NEC regular-season games... Prior to today's game, the Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse program honored seniors Kevin Forster, Rich Gabelman, Bryan Garrahan, Joe McErlean, Cameron Riley, Pat Swanick, and John Winchell alongside former player and current manager Chase Elliott for their dedication to the program for the past four years... With 38 wins over their four-year careers, this senior class graduates as the winningest class in program history... With his 44th career victory on Hawk Hill, head coach Taylor Wray ties the all-time program record for wins, currently held by Paul Perdue (1998-2004)... With his 25th career victory in net, junior goalkeeper T.J. Jones ties the all-time program record for goalkeeper wins, currently held by Ryan McQuade (1996-99) and extends his single-season program record for goalkeeper wins to 11... Jones also moves into sixth all-time in career saves (322)... With one goal today, junior attackman Mike Rastivo has 103 for his career, which ties for fifth all-time with Bill Oakes (1995-98)... With his 61st career appearance today, senior defenseman John Winchell ties for fourth all-time in career games played; the record is 62... With five ground balls today, junior face-off specialist Mike Lanham moves into a tie for ninth all-time with Will Farrell (2012-15) for career ground balls (168).