Brunswick, Maine – Host Bowdoin College raced out to a 10-2 halftime lead and never looked back, posting a convincing 16-3 win over Clark University in non-league men's lacrosse action on Wednesday evening at Howard Ryan Field.

The Polar Bears improve to 8-3 overall and have won five of six overall, while the Cougars have lost three of their last four to slip to 5-5.

Both Lawton Salley (Washington, D.C.) and Billy Bergner (Fairfield, Conn.) each recorded hat tricks for Bowdoin, while Connor O'Toole (San Marino, Calif.) and Brendan Hughes (Marblehead, Mass.) added two markers apiece.

Nathan Fritts (Portland, Ore.) got the hosts on the board in the opening minute of action and the lead was then 2-0 following a tally from Mark Flibotte (Cohasset, Mass.) at the 12:37 mark.

Clark got on the board a little less than five minutes later when Chris Johnson (Amherst, Mass.) notched an unassisted score, cutting the Bowdoin lead in half at 2-1.

The Polar Bears then went on to score the game's next five goals spanning the first and second quarters, building a 7-1 edge. Jeffrey Wasson (Buckhorn, Ontario) finally stopped the bleeding for Cougars when he scored with 4:30 left in the half, but Bowdoin went on to registered the final three goals of the half, including Salley and Brian Durkin (Manchester, Mass.) finding the back of the net less than twenty seconds apart with less than two minutes to play in the half.

Bowdoin then opened the third quarter with a pair of goals in the first two minutes to squash any hopes of a Cougar comeback. The Polar Bears actually scored six of the seven goals scored in the second half, with Clark's only score coming off of an unassisted marker from Graham Werner (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) with less than five minutes to go in the third period.

In a matchup that only featured three penalties, Bowdoin controlled most of the statistics, including outshooting the Cougars 40-12 and forcing 27 Clark turnovers.

Clark will return to Pilgrim League play with a home contest against Regis College on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m., while the Polar Bears visit Wesleyan on Saturday.