GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum University overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Coker University 17-14 in South Atlantic Conference men's lacrosse Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Field.

Luke Bowen finished with five goals and two assists and Ben Royer had two goals and four assists for the Pioneers (6-3, 2-3 SAC), who trailed 13-12 entering the fourth but outscored the Cobras (6-5, 2-4 SAC) 5-1 in the final period. Tusculum goalkeeper Garrett Smith had seven of his 13 saves in the fourth quarter, in which the Pioneers were outshot 14-9 by the Cobras.

Zyaire Marshall led Coker with four goals and an assist and Ryan Forehand had three goals and two assists as Coker outshot Tusculum 52-38, won 22-of-33 faceoffs and turned the ball over just 14 times. However, Tusculum was 3-for-8 with the man advantage including two goals in the fourth quarter.

Ben Hobday, Aidan Villano, Tysen Fontenla and Zach Afalla each had two goals for the Pioneers, with a goal apiece from Preston Stewart and Jayden Rios. Cooper Wert had three goals for the Cobras, and Elijah Utz finished with two goals and three assists.

Coker went up 4-1 after 6 1/2 minutes, but the Pioneers tied the score with three goals in the last 4 1/2 minutes of the first quarter including a buzzer-beater by Bowen. Tusculum went up 7-5 on a man-up goal by Fontenla with 10:04 left int he first half and took a 9-6 lead on a Hobday goal with 6:51 remaining, but two goals from Marshall and one from Wert tied the score at 9-9 into halftime.

Wert gave the Cobras a 12-10 lead with 3:18 left in the third quarter, but goals 11 seconds apart from Stewart and Rios tied the game at 12-12 with 2:22 left. Utz would put Coker ahead for the final time with his second of the game with 1:24 left in the third quarter.

The Pioneers tied the game 13-13 on a goal from Villano with 10:10 to go, and Royer put Tusculum ahead for good with 8:23 remaining on a man-up goal. Villano added a man-up goal with 3:59 to play for a 15-13 Pioneer lead, and Afalla tacked on an insurance goal with 2:39 left. Forehead cut the deficit to 16-14 with 1:50 remaining for the Cobras, but Bowen sealed the win with a goal with 55 seconds to play.

Jake Kent led the Pioneers with four ground balls, with three from Afalla. Brandon Calidonio was 22-for-32 on faceoffs for the Cobras and had 15 ground balls, with two caused turnovers apiece for Price O'Shields and Lennon Connolly.

Coker was 1-for-2 with the man advantage, but committed eight penalties for 5 minutes, 30 seconds in duration. The Cobras were 12-for-13 on clears while the Pioneers were 19-for-23 as a team.

Smith's 13 saves were the seventh time in nine games this season that he has reached double figures in saves for the Pioneers. Jack Schellenberg played the entire game in goal for Coker and had five saves.

The Pioneers will be home to face nationally-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday, April 1 beginning at 6 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The Bears (6-3, 3-2 SAC) set a program single-game record for goals in a 29-4 victory at Mars Hill on Saturday.