LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Robert Morris men's lacrosse team proved the adage that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger by following up a challenging season opener against a preseason top-ten Rutgers squad with a 15-7 romp over longtime non-conference rival Bellarmine at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium Friday afternoon.

Redshirt junior attackman Jimmy Perkins set a new RMU single-game record with six assists, factoring into a torrent of six unanswered goals that allowed the Colonials (1-1) to take control in the first half and, ultimately, he added two of his own.

Previously, six different players had recorded five in one game, with Tyson Gibson last accomplishing the feat versus Hobart Apr. 29, 2017.

Gibson opened the scoring Friday just 1:23 into the match with his second goal in as many games. After Conner Yepsen found the net through traffic with 8:42 left in the first quarter, and Ryan Smith gave Robert Morris a 3-1 lead from just beyond the crease with the team's first man-up goal of the year three-and-a-half minutes later, Perkins caught fire.

The erstwhile Quaker Valley hockey star buried a one-timer from Matt Schmidt early in the second quarter for a 4-1 cushion, then set up Schmidt's first of the season with 7:33 to play in the period. Perkins would also become the first Colonial since Schmidt on Apr. 8, 2017 against Wagner to record eight points in a game, one shy of tying another school record, and just the eighth different one to do so.

He set up Marshall Gibson right on the doorstep for the latter's first of 2018 shortly thereafter, and, with just ten seconds to spare, hooked up with Gibson again from behind the net for an 8-2 halftime advantage over the Knights (0-1).

Schmidt, who led Robert Morris and tied for fourth in the Northeast Conference with 32 goals during his all-conference sophomore campaign, returned the favor to Perkins from behind the Bellarmine cage with 2:33 to go in the third quarter. The native son paid a physical price to finish the play for his third of the young season, as RMU opened up a 14-5 lead.

Off the ensuing scrum, Perkins helped freshman attacker Corson Kealey complete his first career hat trick, less than one week removed from picking up his first collegiate point in his Robert Morris debut.

Kealey, the younger brother of New England Black Wolves (NLL) draftee and RMU alumnus JonPatrik "JP" Kealey, notched one of the program's faster HTs in recent memory, for that matter, needing just 2:06 to break out the chapeaus.

A liberating victory for the Colonials and their offense leads them back to Joe Walton Stadium, where they will meet Georgetown in their home opener next Saturday.

The opening faceoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., and admission is free.

Follow the Colonials: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram