Westfield, MA - The Northern Vermont University-Lyndon men's basketball team suffered through a nightmare offensive first half and was unable to recover, dropping a 91-78 decision to Castleton University in the consolation game of the Hampton Inn / Rick Martin Tournament on Saturday afternoon. The Hornets fall to 3-2 on the season, while the Spartans improve to 3-2.
After Luke Fredsell (Whitesboro, NY) connected on a three-pointer on Lyndon's first possession, the Hornets went nearly eight minutes without another field goal and dug a huge hole in the process. Castleton took advantage of Hornet cold shooting and sloppiness with the ball to open up a 36-9 lead following a Kurgan Brown layup with 6:32 to go in the opening half. Lyndon was able to steady things late in the half and closed on an 18-8 run to cut the Castleton lead to 44-27 at half.
The Hornets continued to climb back into the game in the early going of the second half. Zach Falkenburg (Bridgeport, NY) started things by scoring 13 straight points, and Aiden Trapani's (Deltona, FL) layup but the lead to single digits at 50-42 with 15:09 to go. A quick 8-0 run by the Spartans extended the lead back to 16, and Castleton was able to keep the lead in double digits the next several minutes. Two free throws from Darrell Hardge made it 75-58 with 5:41 to go.
Lyndon again rallied, and after a three from Max Milton (Ithaca, NY) the Hornets were within seven, 76-69, with 4:16 to go. Lyndon turned Castleton over on their next possession, but Lyndon was unable to convert two great looks on their next two possessions, and Joe Alamprese's three-pointer pushed the lead back to double figures. Castleton was able to hold on from there and secure the win.
Hardge topped five double figure scorers for Castleton, finishing with 18 points and adding seven assists. Alamprese and Justin Schwarzbeck both posted doubles: 17 points and 10 rebounds for Alamprese, 14 and 12 for Schwarzbeck. Remy Brown and Johnny Torrance chipped in 15 and 13 points respectively.
Falkenburg led Lyndon with a game high 24 points, with 22 coming in the second half. Fredsell added 16 and Mondwell Bukle (Pyeongtaek, South Korea) chipped in 14.
On Tuesday the Hornets will travel to Hanover, NH for an exhibition game against NCAA Division I Dartmouth College. Game time is 7:00 pm.
