LYNDON CENTER, Vt. — Chris Ruiz had 29 points, 10 rebounds and three steals to lead Plattsburgh State to a 100-81 season-opening victoy over Lyndon at Stannard Gymnasium.

Errol Daniyan collected 24 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots for the Cardinals (1-0) while Steve Thomas and R.J. Ponesse chipped in 17 and 10 points, respectively. Ketema Brooks dished out a team-high seven assists for the winners.

The Cards trailed 40-39 at halftime and 50-49 with 15:31 remaining, but the trio of Ruiz, Daniyan and Thomas proved to be too much for Lyndon down the stretch. Ruiz tallied 23 points in the second half while Thomas and Daniyan scored 17 and 10 points, respectively, after intermission. 

Phil Warrick (Springfield, Mass.) had 24 points to lead the Hornets (0-1) and Ben Sackett (Lyndonville, Vt.) added 16 points and three assists. Jose Fortunato (Boston, Mass.) handed out a game-high six assists and the frontcourt tandem of O'Bee Byrd (Waterbury, Conn.) and Jason Gray (East Thetford, Vt.) had eight rebounds each.