The BYU lacrosse team honored its three seniors in the final home game of the season en route to a 13-6 victory Friday night over the No. 17-ranked Lindenwood Lions.

The Cougars came out hot, racing to a 5-0 lead within the first nine minutes of the game. The team would never look back as eight Cougars scored in a solid all-around team effort.

BYU has had problems in the first quarter in its losses, getting outscored 28-12.

"The first five minutes of the game were great for us," BYU coach Jason Lamb said. "By halftime we had them in a great position."

The second half was a different story for the Cougars as the team came out sluggish and was outscored 4-3 in the half.

"We played the worst third quarter of the whole year and the fourth quarter was a limp effort at trying to be better," Lamb said. "I think in the whole second half Lindenwood wanted to win more than we did."

Lamb said he was not happy with the team's second half performance and feels the team must become more consistent if it expects to win games.

"Our guys seemed happy to be ahead and put it into cruise control for a half," Lamb said. "This team is not good enough to put it in cruise control for long periods of time."

Despite the poor second half, the Cougars continue to make improvements on the defensive side of the ball holding its opponents to less than 10 goals per game in the past six games.

BYU's three seniors, Josh Austin, Christian Kikumoto and Corby Bivans, were honored at halftime as each player received the traditional graduating blanket.

Senior captain Josh Austin went out with a nice performance in the final home game of his career that included three goals and three assists, but the humble captain still gives the credit to his teammates.

"I give all the credit to all of my teammates," Austin said. "I have enjoyed every year I have played at BYU. It has been a fantastic opportunity for me."

The Cougars were finally able to overcome the "BYU-TV jinx" as the victory gave the team a 1-2 record on TV.

"I think we just got off our game plan whenever we see the TV cameras," Austin said. "Maybe it's a state of mind or just a little bit of added pressure."

With the victory, the Cougars have won four games in a row and improve their home record to 5-2 on the season.

Lindenwood dropped its third consecutive game of the season and fall to 8-5.

The Cougars are down to their last three games of the season, all of which will take place on the road. The first game will be held Thursday night as the Cougars take on the arch-rival Utes.

The Utes come into the contest on a high as they pulled off an impressive upset over the No. 2 ranked Colorado State Rams in Fort Collins.

The playoffs are just around the corner and Lamb says his team still has a lot of work to make a push for the championship.

"I don't even think the playoffs should be on our mind right now. We have to figure out how to play 60 minutes every game."