AMHERST, MA -- The No. 3 RIT (2-0) men's lacrosse team held on for a 14-12 win over Bates College (0-1) Saturday afternoon in non-conference action from Garber Field on the campus of the University of Massachusetts. Tied 9-9 late in the third quarter, the Tigers scored four straight goals, and held on for the win.

RIT led 4-3 after the first quarter, while the Bobcats answered with five goals in the second quarter, tying the score 8-8 at halftime. RIT outscored the Bobcats 4-1 in the third quarter and scored twice in the fourth quarter to hold on for the win.

Shots were 49-45 in favor of Bates, while the Tigers won the ground ball battle, 40-37. Ryan Barnable (Whitby, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson) led the Tigers with six points on three goals and three assists. Quinn Commandant (Rockwood, Ontario/The Kiski School) finished with three goals and four points, while Damon Currie tallied three goals. Cam Isaac (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) tallied two goals and added an assist, while senior long-stick midfielder finished with a goal and an assist.

Walker Hare (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) got the win in net, making a career-high 20 saves. Landon Nolta (Highlands Ranch, CO/Mountain Vista) won 15-of-26 draws and had six ground balls, while Patrick Shoemay (Surrey, British Columbia/Holy Cross) was one of three Tigers to cause two turnovers to go along with securing five ground balls. Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) and Chandler Allen (Ilderon, Ontario/Medway) each caused two turnovers for the Tigers, who caused 10 for the game.

Matt Chlastawa led Bates with a goal and three assists. Curtis Knapton tallied three goals, while Jack Scribner, Brendan Mullally and Otis Klingbeil each scored twice for the Bobcats. Mitchell Drake took the loss in net, making nine saves in the first half. Rob Strain played the second half, allowing six goals and making four saves.

Isaac gave RIT an early lead on his driving goal 38 seconds into the game. Knapton answered for Bates, tying the score on the Bobcats next possession. Two straight goals from Currie gave RIT a 3-1 lead, but Bates answered with goals from Matt Kelleher and Knapton that tied the game at 3-3. Barnable scored late in the quarter to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead.

Chlastawa scored off a loose ball in front of the RIT net early in the second quarter, tying the game at 4-4. The Tigers ran off two straight goals, taking a 6-4 lead on a Spencer Bell (Fairport, NY/Fairport) goal at the 11:55 mark of the quarter. The Bobcats answered with two straight goals, tying the score at 6-6 on Knapton's goal with 10:22 remaining in the half. RIT got goals from Commandant and Isaac, while Klingbeil and RJ Sarka scored for Bates to make it 8-8 at halftime.

Commandant opened the third quarter scoring with his goal 48 seconds in to give RIT a 9-8 lead. After a Mullally goal tied the game, RIT ran off three straight goals to end the quarter. Barnable gave RIT a 10-9 lead, while Currie netted his third of the game on a nice feed from Barnable on the man-up to make it 11-9 Tigers. Commandant scored off a feed from Dawson Tait (Ottawa, Ontario/Mother Teresa) with 2:37 remaining in the quarter to increase the Tigers lead to 12-9.

Trevor Smyth (Orangeville, Ontario/The Kiski School) opened the scoring in the fourth quarter on his transition goal. Tait won a ground ball at midfield and flicked a pass to Commandant who found Smyth streaking toward the net and he scored to give RIT a 13-9 lead. Bates answered with three straight goals, cutting the RIT lead to 13-12 on Scribner's goal with 10:18 remaining. Bell made it a two-goal cushion with his goal with 7:17 remaining, and the RIT defense held strong for the two-goal win.

RIT was 3-of-8 with the man-advantage, and won 17-of-29 face-offs, while converting 18-of-26 on clearing attempts.

The Tigers return to action on Tuesday, March 5 versus Springfield College at 7 p.m. at the Carrier Dome on the campus of Syracuse University.