BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The No. 19 Robert Morris men's lacrosse team had to shrug off a slow start Tuesday night, but it continues to prove it knows how to finish.

Late goals by attackman Ryan Smith and fellow sophomore James Scane, nifty playmaking by redshirt junior attackman Jimmy Perkins throughout and familiar bend-but-don't-break defense by the Colonials (8-3, 3-1) secured an 11-9 win over stubborn Canisius (5-6, 2-1) at the Demske Sports Complex in their annual non-conference clash.

While continuing to build its out-of-league resume, RMU has further tipped the scales in this long-standing rivalry. It has now taken six straight meetings from the Golden Griffins after falling in the first five upon the program's inception in 2005.

This one, however, did not come as easily as in past prime-time contests. Robert Morris never led until the fourth quarter, when Perkins broke a 6-6 tie on a turnaround shot, under pressure, from deep in the right wing with not quite a minute gone by in the final frame to cap his third hat trick of the season.

The Colonials had trailed 4-1 after the first quarter and 5-4 at the half.

"They wanted it. We came out a little flat, and they came out with a lot of energy," Smith explained. "They had us in the first a little bit, but once we got our legs and got settled in, we were able to compete with them."

Perkins would finish with a team-best four points, pulling slightly ahead of Matt Schmidt for the RMU scoring lead with 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists). He would set up Schmidt in transition for the latter's team-high 24th goal of the campaign, which got Bobby Mo on the board almost midway through the opening period. The Central Bucks East standout would add another with 8:33 left in the second to produce the halftime score.

But it was Smith who submitted his #SCtop10 candidacy with ESPN3 cameras present. On a delayed penalty call, the Colonials patiently worked the ball to him down low. He took on a defender, and, as we was knocked to the turf, dribbled an unconscious backhander through the legs of Liam Ganzhorn for an incredible 11th goal of the year and an 8-6 RMU lead with 11:48 left in regulation.

"That one was improvised," Smith said. "I had a short stick [defender] on me, behind, and I knew the guy would try swatting it. So I just tried to make a play, and it all worked out."

After Canisius answered two-and-a-half minutes later, Smith countered with another beautiful backhander from the close right wing to restore the two-goal advantage with 7:45 to play.

Still, the Griffs would not go quietly. They tied the game at nine and had a chance to retake the lead late, until Zachary Bryant forced a mad scramble for a ball intended for leading scorer Connor Kearnan, which was ultimately snared by fellow defenseman Zac Christianson. In transition, Sean Doyle centered it for Scane, and the second-year midfielder whipped a shot past Ganzhorn from the top of the circle with 2:10 left in regulation for what would prove to be his first collegiate game-winning goal.

"That just speaks to the depth we have. We feel comfortable with anyone trying to push the ball up the field," Smith said of the Northeast Conference's most productive offense. "Even guys who might not get in all the time, when they get in. We have complete confidence in everyone. We trust everyone to just go make a play."

Speaking to that depth, rookies Corson Kealey and Jake Boudreau opened the scoring in the second and third quarters, respectively.

Tyson Gibson, who had already chipped in a couple assists, provided the final margin--and margin for error, for that matter--with an empty-netter that came with under a minute to play, though, just for good measure, the Colonials flexed their defensive muscle one last time, killing off a penalty for the final 20 seconds.

Robert Morris entered Tuesday with an even .800 success rate in man-down situations, which ranked fourth in Division I.

Bryant and Christianson, as usual, were a presence on the back end all night. The senior duo combined for seven ground balls and seven caused turnovers in support of goalkeeper Alex Heger, who effectively scattered 11 saves, and Bryant surpassed Ben Lewis '13 for second on RMU's all-time list with 66 career CT's. Their squad, conversely, committed only one turnover in the final period.

Furthermore, mirroring their formula for success in last year's meeting, the Colonials limited Kearnan to a single goal and just two points, both coming in the first half.

No. 19 Robert Morris returns home for the final night game and non-conference affair of its 2018 regular season, against D-I independent Cleveland State. The first-ever meeting between the Colonials and Vikings is set for 7:00 p.m. EDT Saturday at Joe Walton Stadium, with free admission, and they know the recipe for continued success outside the NEC.

"We're happy we got the win, but we knew it wasn't our best game," Smith said. "To be successful Saturday, we just have to come out flying, with a lot of energy. When we play with a lot of energy, that's when we're at our best.

"And if we play 60 minutes with a lot of energy, we'll be good."

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