Tied at five at the half, the third-seeded Belmont Abbey men's lacrosse team outscored the sixth-seeded Pfeiffer Falcons 7-3 in the second half, including a 5-2 spurt in the third quarter, as the Crusaders extended their winning streak to seven with a 12-8 win over Pfeiffer in the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament. The Crusaders improve to 7-4, while the Falcons end their season with a 3-9 mark.

The Abbey received goals from seven different players as senior attackman Aaron Flood led the way with three goals. Miles Elliott, Billy Lamb and Jedd Gardner all scored twice, while Michael Brown, Brian Watson and Jon Fugitt each had one. Brown and Flood led the way with a pair of assists each, while Fugitt and Adam Basso both had one. Chad Olsen led the Falcons with three goals, while five others added one each.

Defensively, Tom Ottman led all players with four caused turnovers, while Brian Watson led the way with five ground balls. Goalkeeper Mark Kelske made 17 saves, 10 in the second half and four in the fourth quarter, while registering four ground balls.

The Abbey advances to the semifinal round, where it will face the second-seeded Queens Royals Friday at 2:00 p.m. on the campus of Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina.