BALTIMORE – Seth Higgins scored four of his career-high six points during a 6-0 Loyola University Maryland run in the third and fourth quarters, helping the Greyhounds to a 13-9 victory over visiting Bucknell University on Saturday in Patriot League action at Ridley Athletic Complex.
 
Sam Shafer finished with a season-high 13 saves, making seven in the second half, while Bailey Savio won six second-half faceoffs and set the Patriot League career record for ground balls after halftime.
 
Savio finished the game 13 of 23 at the 'X' and picked up nine ground balls as he took his career total to 405, eclipsing the mark of 401 set by Lehigh's Conor Gaffney from 2017-2021.
 
Bucknell (6-2 overall, 0-2 Patriot League) scored the first half's last four goals to lead 7-5 at halftime after Connor Davis scored with less than six seconds to play in the opening half. Davis then scored again 4:20 into the second half to make it a three-goal lead by the Bison.
 
Higgins broke the run 70 seconds later as he dodged to his left hand and scored his second goal of the day.
 
Loyola (3-4, 2-0) got back within a goal at the 7:00 mark in the third, scoring out of the subbing game. Davis Lindsey caught a pass out of the box and threw it to Dylan Binney who was also running into the offensive possession. Binney scored his fourth this season to make it 8-7 Bucknell.
 
Adam Poitras evened the game at 3:27, getting free around a pick and scoring off the goalie's hip. Higgins then tallied his second unassisted goal of the quarter as he beat a defender in the left alley, got his hands free and stung a high-to-high shot at 1:24 to put Loyola back in front.
 
He would then assist on the Greyhounds' next two goals, tallies by Aidan Olmstead and Joey Kamish with the latter's putting the Greyhounds up 11-8 with 12:31 to play in regulation.
 
Bucknell would break a nearly 15-minute scoreless stretch with an extra-man goal by Jack Billitier at 11:06, but it would be the last goal of the day for the Bison.
 
Olmstead skipped a pass to Evan James on the left side, and James went low-to-low for a goal at 8:57, and Dan Wigley fed Matt Heuston who was running topside from behind the cage for his first goal of the season with 3:07 to play.
 
Higgins had career-highs in all three offensive categories with team-highs of three goals, three assists and six points. Olmstead added four points on two goals and two assists, while James had two and one. Kamish scored twice, and Lindsey added a goal and an assist.
 
On the defensive end, Shafter made saves on seven of the Bison's nine second-half shots to finish with a season-high 13 stops. He also aided a Loyola transition effort that was successful on all 12 clears in the second half.
 
Defensively, Loyola forced 20 Bucknell turnovers and eight failed clears. Payton Rezanka had two caused turnovers, both in the first quarter, while nine others players each had one.
 
Loyola also was buoyed by a large advantage off the ground in the second half, picking up 22 ground balls to the Bison's 14 after the break. Overall, Loyola lead 42-30 in ground balls.
 
The Greyhounds took an early lead with James and Higgins each scoring in the game's first 1:04, but Bucknell came back 27 seconds after Higgins' goal to tally one by Dutch Furlong.
 
From there, the teams traded goals one for one, and Kamish scored unassisted at 8:03 to give Loyola a 5-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
 
C.J. Baroni's unassisted goal at 5:27 sparked the 5-0 Bucknell run that would carry the Bison to a three-goal lead in the third quarter.
 
Loyola, which has won its last three games, continues Patriot its League schedule on Saturday, March 26, when it hosts the U.S. Military Academy in a 1 p.m. game. That is followed by a Loyola women's game against Boston University at 4 p.m.