Lyndonville, VT - The Northern Vermont University-Lyndon men's basketball team ran into a bigger and more physical Wheaton College team on Saturday afternoon. The result was an 85-57 victory for the visiting Lyons, who evened their record at 2-2 on the season. The win was also the 300th career win for Wheaton head coach Brian Walmsley. The Hornets fell to 2-3.
Wheaton capitalized on a pair of early Hornet turnovers to jump in front, 6-0, following layups from Alex Carlisle, Eoin Morrissey, and Markenley Lima. The Lyons gradually extenede their advantage until a Khaled Thaher layup gave the visitors a 28-13 lead with 8:10 to go in the opening half. Lyndon responded with a quick 7-0 run ignited by a pair of Tristan Worlock (DeRuyter, NY) free throws and capped by an Antonio Carlisle (St. Johnsbury, VT) jumper that cut the Wheaton lead to 28-20. An Evan Cook layup and free throw stopped the Lyndon run, and Wheaton gradually built their lead back to 19 at intermission.
The Wheaton lead grew to 22 following a pair of Aaron Williams free throws with 13:15 remaining. However, the Hornets went on an 8-2 run to get back within 16, 59-43, following a Mondwell Bukle (Pyeongtaek, South Korea) layup with 10:25 to go. Wheaton dashed any hopes ot a Lyndon comeback with a 12-2 run capped by a Cook three-pointer, making the score 71-45 with 7:40 remaining. The Lyons kept the Hornets at bay the rest of the way and coasted to the victory.
Cook led a balanced Wheaton attack with 17 points. Aaron Williams came off the bench to add 16 points on 5/6 shooting. Alex Carlisle, brother of Lyndon's Antonio Carlisle, added 13 points and six assists. Morrissey also reached double figures with 11 points. Antonio Carlisle was the only Lyndon player to finish in double figures, as he scored 17 points.
Wheaton dominated the game around the basket. The Lyons outscored the Hornets, 52-32, in the paint and added 23 points off of turnovers. Wheaton also had a 43-29 rebounding advantage and connected on 33 of 59 shots (55.9%). Meanwhile, Lyndon was only 21/60 (35.0%) from the floor, including only 2/12 from behind the three-point arc.
The Hornets are now off until after the Thanksgiving holiday. They will return to action on Tueday, November 29th, when they host Norwich University. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm.
