WATERVILLE, Me. -- Bayard DeMallie and Jake Bennett each scored three goals Saturday as the #7-ranked Amherst College men's lacrosse team held off Colby College in a conference match-up on the Mules' Seaverns Field at Harold Alfond Stadium.

Amherst improved to 8-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play with the win. They will host Connecticut College Wednesday at 6 p.m. next. The Mules slipped to 2-7 overall and 0-6 in conference play.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Amherst built a 6-2 lead after the first 15 minutes. Jake Bennett snapped a 2-2 tie with a goal off an assist from  Bob Gross with 3:05 left in the quarter. That began a string of six consecutive Amherst goals that left the Mammoths leading 8-2 after the first minute of the second stanza. 

* Gross scored a man-up goal with 2:44 remaining off an assist from Tanyr Krummenacher -- one of Krummenacher's five assists in the game -- for a 4-2 lead. With just two ticks of the clock left in the first quarter, Gross scored his second goal off a Ben Bruno assist for a 6-2 lead.

* Only five seconds into the second quarter, it was 7-2 after Nicholas Kopp won a face-off, faced down the field and scored unassisted. Twenty seconds later it was 8-2 as DeMallie scored his 27th goal of the season off another Krummenacher assist. 

* Amherst led 11-7 and its lead fluctuated between four and six goals for much of the second half. Senior long-stick Jack McHugh was credited with his first collegiate goal in the third quarter, one which gave Amherst a 13-8 lead. Colby fought back to get within two goals at 13-11 before Bennett, Krummenacher and Matt Adams scored in succession to build the Mammoth lead back to five late.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Amherst held a 52-42 edge in shots while winning 17 of 30 face-off opportunities and securing 36 groundballs to Colby's 31. 

* Gross (2 goals, 4 assists) and Krummenacher (1 goal, 5 assists) each finished with 6 points. 

* Kopp won 15 of 23 face-offs and led Amherst with 9 groundballs. 

* Mitch Likins had 8 saves in goal for the Mammoths.

* Brodie Rayment led Amherst with 2 caused turnovers and grabbed 3 groundballs in the win.