SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 29, 2016) - A 5-0 run that began late in the third quarter and stretched into the fourth lifted the No. 3 nationally ranked Tufts University men's lacrosse team to a 15-12 victory over No. 18 Western New England University this afternoon in non-conference action at Golden Bear Stadium.

The back-and-forth battle between two of the top programs in the region saw Western New England (4-3) claw its way back from a 9-5 deficit in the third quarter to claim a 10-9 advantage, but the Jumbos (6-1) outscored the Golden Bears 6-2 over the final 18:27 to secure the win.

Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Offensive Player of the Week Justin Bard (Westfield, Mass.) again fueled the Western New England offense with a team-high five points (two goals, three assists), while senior Jon Bota (Mahopac, N.Y.) and junior Keegan Dudeck (Longmeadow, Mass.) registered four each and freshman Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) chipped in with three.

Senior faceoff specialist David Cedrone (Yantic, Conn.) continued to have success at the X, going 20-for-30 (66.6%) and scooping up a game-high ten ground balls.

The two-time defending NCAA champion Jumbos were led by senior Garrett Clarke (Ridgewood, N.J.), who scored four goals on seven shots and added an assist. Classmate Jake Gillespie (Topsfield, Mass.) found the back of the net three times, while senior Ben Andreycak (Pleasantville, N.Y.) registered four points with one goal and three assists.

Western New England sophomore goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) made 11 saves in the cage, while his counterpart, Tufts senior Alex Salazar (Summit, N.J.) turned back 18 shots on the other end.

Bota connected with Bard for the game's opening score just seven seconds in, but the Jumbos answered with four straight goals, including two from Gillespie, to claim a 4-1 edge at the 7:49 mark. Cedrone found Bota off the ensuing faceoff to cut Western New England's deficit to three, and the Golden Bears added two more goals to pull even at 4-4 by the end of the first quarter.

Tufts took a 7-5 lead into the break after outscoring Western New England 3-1 in the second quarter, and the Jumbos extended their lead to four (9-5) with two goals early in the third, but the Golden Bears put together a 5-0 run to regain the lead late in the period. Bota got it started with 10:04 on the clock, scoring on a feed from Bard, while senior Mike Jednak (Franklin, Mass.) followed with his sixth of the season a minute and a half later and classmate Taylor Dubose (Altamont, N.Y.) cut the home team's deficit to one with 7:27 left in the third. Dudeck and Jednak capped the rally with goals at the 6:05 and 4:21 marks as the Golden Bears had their sights set on their third victory over a nationally ranked opponent this month.

Tufts regained control of the contest with a 5-0, run, however, opening up a 14-10 lead with 13:18 remaining. Bota and Dudeck brought Western New England back to within two (14-12) late in the fourth, but the Jumbos held off the charge to secure the win.

The Golden Bears had a 30-26 edge in shots on goal, and a 36-31 advantage in ground balls.

With just one late season contest remaining on its non-conference slate, Western New England now turns its attention to CCC play, beginning with Thursday's matchup at Salve Regina. Tufts will be back in action on Saturday at Connecticut College.