BELMONT, N.C. -- Thomas Sullivan made 14 saves and Belmont Abbey built a 6-2 halftime lead then survived a furious rally for an 8-7win over Mount Olive in Conference Carolinas men's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon. The contest featured the final two undefeated teams in league play and gives a Crusaders an inside track to the regular season title with three games remaining.

The Abbey improves to 7-3 overall and 3-0 in the conference, while the Trojans fall to 4-6, 2-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Davis McCulley, Jacob Power and Tre Childers all scored twice. McCulley and Power added an assist for a three-point afternoon.
• Riley Arsenault tallied a goal and an assist, while MIchael Canavan also found the net.
• James Bucher, Caleb Mulcahy and Mason Thomas were credited with four ground balls each with Power and Brad Mackie each adding three. The Crusaders had 30 ground balls to the Trojans' 26.
• UMO won 11 of the 18 faceoffs.
• Belmont Abbey built a 3-0 lead in the first nine minutes and held a 4-1 advantage after the first 15 minutes.
• The lead increased to 6-1 at the break.
• UMO trimmed the margin to 8-4 in the third quarter and scored the only two goals of the fourth quarter 48 seconds apart by the 12-minute mark.
• But from there, the Crusaders defense and Sullivan clamped down, keeping Mount Olive off the board. The Abbey ran out the final two minutes without taking a shot.

UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey remains at home for another Conference Carolinas game on Wednesday.
• The Crusaders host Emmanuel at 3:30 p.m.