Lyndonville, VT - In a game with 16 lead changes where neither team held a lead of more than eight points at any time, Husson University edged Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, 99-98, in North Atlantic Conference men's basketball on Sunday afternoon.  With the win Husson improves to 9-13 on the season and 6-5 in NAC play.  Lyndon falls to 5-17 overall and 2-9 in conference.

Sunday's game was tightly contested throughout.  Husson's Justin Thompson scored the game's first five points, but three-point goals from Peyton Olsen (Middleburgh, NY) and Zach Falkenburg (Bridgeport, NY), followed by a basket and free throw from Damon Denteh (Jamaica, NY) put Lyndon in front, 9-5.  Husson then went on an 8-0 run of their own, capped by a Thompson jumper, to take back the lead.

The back and forth play continued, with Lyndon taking their biggest lead at 28-22 following a Kenan Hajdarevic (St. Johnsbury, VT) three-pointer with 7:32 to go in the half.  Husson scored the next seven points, and a three-from Scott Lewis put the Eagles back on top.  Lyndon's Luke Fredsell (Whitesboro, NY) was then fouled shooting a three-pointer and made all three free throws.  With the Hornets holding a 44-43 lead, Thompson scored inside and was fouled.  After he converted the free throw, Husson went into the halftime break with a 46-44 advantage.

Justice Kendall opened up the second half scoring with a three-pointer to extend the Husson advantage to five.  The Eagles then maintained a slim lead until Denteh's three ball tied things at 55-55 at the 16:11 mark.  Following two Thompson free throws, back to back Olsen baskets putthe Hornets in front by two.  Husson then went on a 14-4 run to build their biggest lead, 71-63, with 11:31 to go.

Lyndon again rallied, and when Falkenburg knocked down a jumper the Hornets were within one at 75-74.  Another Husson run, capped by a Kendall transition basket and free throw, built the Eagle advantage back to eight.  The Hornets mounted yet another rally, and five straight points from falkenburg narrowed the Husson lead to 95-93 with 2:35 to go.  The Hornets got a defensive stop on the next Husson possession, then Olsen converted one of two free throws to make it a one point game.  following another stop, Denteh drew a foul and made one of two to tie the game at the 1:32 mark.

Kendall was fouled on the next Husson possession and converted both free throws to put the Eagles back up by two.  Then Denteh drew another foul and again made one free throw to cut the lead back to one.  Following another stop, Falkenburg's putback basket gave Lyndon a 98-97 lead with 22 seconds to go.  Lewis was fouled on Husson's next possession and made both free throws, giving Husson a 99-98 lead with 6.5 seconds to go.  Following a timeout, Falkenburg drove the ball the length of the court, but his potential game winner was off the mark, leaving the Hornets with a heartbreaking loss.

Thompson had a big game to lead Husson, finishing with 26 points and 12 rebounds.  Kendall and Lewis finished with 20 points each, with Kendall adding five assists.  Falkenburg paced the Hornets with a career high 30 points on 9/12 shooting from the floor, including 4/5 from behind the arc, and 8/9 from the free throw line.  Olsen finished with 16 and Denteh added 12.  Kyle Cary (Selkirk, NY) recorded a double double with ten points and 12 rebounds and Fredsell finished with a team best four assists.

The Hornets held a slim 44-40 rebounding advantage.  Lyndon was 31/70 (44.3%) from the floor, including 10/32 (31.3%) from behind the arc, and 26/33 (78.8%) from the foul line.  Husson shot 34/69 from the field, including 5/17 from distance, and 26/37 (70.3%) from the foul line.  Both teams were relatively clean with the ball, as Husson only turned it over six times to 11 for Lyndon.

Lyndon will host SUNY Canton for a pair of games to close out the home portion of the season next weekend.  The Hornets and Roos will square off at 7:30 pm on Friday, then run it back with a 3:00 tip-off on Saturday.