DANVILLE, Ky. (CentreColonels.com) – The Centre men's lacrosse team dug itself a hole in the first half against the Birmingham Southern Panthers but fought back to tie the score in the fourth quarter before dropping a 10-9 heartbreaker to the Panthers at Farris Stadium.

The Panthers outshot the Colonels 9-8 in the opening period and scored three goals while BSC's Hank Harris saved every Centre scoring attempt of the quarter. Birmingham Southern added another goal early in the second quarter before the Centre offense warmed up.

The Colonels scored five goals in the second period, with two coming from senior Bryant Portwood (Charlotte, N.C.). Sophomore Leland Gray (Louisville, Ky.) assisted on both of Portwood's goals while providing one of his own, and senior Lorenzo Powell (Newcastle, Wash.) kicked off a 3-0 Centre spurt that cut the deficit to one goal. The Centre defense was also key to the second quarter resurgence as the Colonels forced ten BSC turnovers, with senior Jake Marfise (Tampa, Fla.) finishing with a game high six forced turnovers. With just seconds remaining before halftime, junior Ross McClellan (Louisville, Ky.) found freshman Dominic Nayan (Memphis, Tenn.) for a goal as the clock showed two seconds left, and the Colonels carried momentum into the intermission.

Centre stayed hot in the early stages of the third quarter as Gray put home two more goals, one coming off the feed from sophomore Emerson Prager (Colchester, Vt.). Gray's second goal gave the Colonels their first lead of the game but BSC fought back and Davis Thompson's goal with 28 seconds left in the period put the Panthers back on top.

In a back and forth fourth quarter, the Colonels struck first. Senior Austin Zehnder (Prospect, Ky.) found junior Pierce Barber (Louisville, Ky.) for an equalizing goal just seconds into the quarter, but Birmingham's Justin Dennis quickly put the Panthers back on top. Centre took advantage of a Panthers penalty as Nayan scored a man-up goal to once again tie the score, but a little over one minute later, Tanner Schneider scored what proved to be the game winning goal. Junior Sam Long (Cincinnati, Ohio) made several key saves to keep it a one-goal contest, but BSC keeper Matt Quill stopped Barber's shot with 90 seconds left to halt Centre's last scoring opportunity.

Gray led the Colonels with three goals and two assists, while Portwood and Nayan each added a pair of goals for Centre.

Long finished the game with 16 saves, including five each in the third and fourth period.

The Panthers' Tanner Schneider led all scorers with four goals, including the game winner with eight minutes remaining.

The next game for the Centre men's lacrosse team will be a midweek home tilt against Transylvania on Wednesday. Game time is slated for 7:00 PM.