Lyndonville, VT - The Northern Vermont University-Lyndon men's basketball team dug itself a big hole in Sunday afternoon's non-conference matchup with SUNY Potsdam.  After being down by as much as 25 early in the second half, the Hornets rallied to within eight points with just over nine minutes remaining.  That was as close as they would get, however, as Potsdam would cruise to a 96-79 victory.  The Bears remain undefeated in three games this season, while the Hornets fall to 2-2.

Potsdam started quickly, pitalizing on three early Lyndon turnovers to jump out to a 7-0 advantage just over two minutes into the contest.  After Potsdam extended the lead to ten following a Brandon Segar Jr. jumper, the Hornets found a little spark as three pointers from Timothy Hoar (Shelburne Falls, MA) and Phillip Lafond (Stoughton, MA) sanwiched around a jumper from Potsdam's Jayquan Thomas made the score 15-9, Bears.

Peyton Olsen (Middleburgh, NY) found a cutting Kyle Cary (Selkirk, NY) for a layup to bring the Hornets within 24-19 with 8:36 to go in the half.  With Potsdam holding a seven point lead and just over six minutes until halftime, the Bears put together a 10-0 run capped by a Thomas jumper to take control of the contest.  Potsdam gradually extended the lead to as much as 24 before Neal Mulligan (Marshfield, VT) was fouled shooting a three and converted all three shots to make it 56-35 Potsdam at the break.

Thomas and Tyrese Baptiste scored the first two baskets of the second half to give Potsdam their biggest lead at 60-35.  At that point the Hornets started to climb their way back into the contest.  The Hornets went on a 24-7 run over an eight minute stretch.  The run was capped by Jahleel Gabriel's (Springfield, MA) putback basket at the 9:13 mark to bring Lyndon to within 69-61.

Potsdam regained control with a 7-0 run of their own on two inside baskets from Baptiste sandwiching a three-pointer from Danny Delsol-Lowry.  That gave the Bears a 15-point lead, and the Hornets weren't able to draw close the rest of the game.

Delsol-Lowry was tops among three Bears who cracked the 20-point mark, finishing with a game high 25 points.  Segar and Baptiste both recorded double doubles, as Segar finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds and Baptiste recorded 20 points and ten rebounds.  Thomas chipped in 19 points for Potsdam.

Gabirel and Cary both notched double doubles for the Hornets.  Gabriel tied for team scoring honors with 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and Cary scored ten points and grabbed 12 boards.  Damon Denteh (Jamaica, NY) and Zach Falkenburg (Bridgeport, NY) both finished in double figures with 14 and 11 points respectively.

Neither team was able to find the range from distance, as Potsdam only connected on four of 15 three-pointers while Lyndon connected on nine of 32.  The Bears owned a significant advantage at the foul line, converting 30 of their 51 attempts compared to 14 of 20 for the Hornets.  Potsdam owned a 54-44 rebounding advantage and forced 25 Hornet turnovers while committing 20 themselves.

Next up for Lyndon is the first of two games in the New York City area at the end of the week.  The Hornets will play at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY on Thursday evening at 7:30 pm.