North Adams, MA – Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts pulled away down the stretch to earn a 91-74 victory over Northern Vermont University-Lyndon in a non-conference men's college basketball game on Thursday evening. MCLA improves to 4-5 with the win, while Lyndon falls to 1-5 on the season.

The Hornets started fast, jumping out to an 11-2 advantage, keyed by three Zach Falkenburg (Bridgeport, NY) three-pointers. MCLA responded with an 8-0 run of their own to get within one.

After the teams traded baskets, a Falkenburg layup and two Max Milton (Ithaca, NY) free throws built the Hornet lead back to five. MCLA again responded, scoring the next six points to take their first lead at 18-17, following Mamadou Diallo's layup with 10:49 to go in the opening half.

MCLA gradually grew their lead to as much as ten points after Hayden Bird's layup at the 3:02 mark. Lyndon started to chip away, however, and Luke Fredsell's (Whitesboro, NY) three-pointer brought Lyndon within one point at 42-41 heading into halftime.

Antonio Carlisle (St. Johnsbury, VT) knocked down a foul line jumper on Lyndon's first possession of the second half to put the Hornets back in front. The two team battled on even terms over the next several minutes before Falkenburg's layup gave the Hornets what would turn out to be their final lead at 54-53 with 14:13 to go.

Noah Yearsley's three-pointer would put the Trailblazers back in front, and MCLA would maintain a small lead over the next several minutes. A Carlisle three with just under seven minutes remaining would pull the Hornets within three at 70-67, but MCLA would score the next seven points and pull away from there.

Bird finished with 24 points to lead MCLA. Quentin Gittens added 17 points while Reece Racette chipped in 15 points, grabbed a game high nine rebounds, and handed out four assists. Falkenburg led Lyndon with 24 points while Carlisle and Fredsell added 15 and 14 points respectively.

MCLA made 31 of 65 shots (47.7%). The Trailblazers also converted 7 of 11 three-point attempts in the second half, after failing to make any of their nine first half tries from distance. The Hornets were 30 for 65 (46.2%) from the floor, including 10 of 29 (34.5%) from behind the arc. The difference in the game was on the glass, as MCLA held a commanding 49-31 rebounding advantage.

The Hornets travel to the University of Maine at Farmington on Saturday afternoon for their North Atlantic Conference opener. Tip-off is set for 2:00 pm.