Charleston, S.C. - The Marian men's rugby team took a 53-26 win over UNC Wilmington on Friday. After a tightly contested first half, the Knights outscored the Seahawks by 26 points to cruise to victory. Marian advances to the Elite Eight of the USA Rugby Division II Tournament in 15's with the win.

Leading the Knights in scoring was freshman forward Clay Peters, converting three tries for 15 points to lead Marian in the contest. Lucas Pacheco joined Peters in scoring multiple tries with two for 10 points. Zach White, Elliot Wilkins, Prince Faraji, and Nigel Evans all scored one try for the Knights, respectively. Mex Hendry was successful on four conversion kicks, tallying eight points.

Marian will play the winner of Northern Iowa and Virginia on Sunday afternoon from The Citadel, with the winner advancing to the Division II National Championships.

MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos and more.