Lyndonville, VT - Visiting Clarkson University led from wire to wire, defeating Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, 90-66, in a non-conference men's college basketball game on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Golden Knights improved to 5-3 on the season, while the Hornets fell to 2-6.
Clarkson took control of the game from the onset, jumping out to a 7-0 lead less than three minutes in, before Aiden Trapani (Deltona, FL) connected from three-point range to get the Hornets on the board. The Golden Knight lead reached double figures at 17-7 following a three-pointer from Frankie Rainville at the 14:03 mark.
Freshman guard Aidan Lopez (Jay, NY) came off the Lyndon bench to ignite a Hornet rally. Entering the game with the Hornets trailing by 11 he connected on a pair of three-pointers that keyed a 12-5 Lyndon run that pulled the Hornets to within 51-21 with 7:39 remaining in the half.
Clarkson's Blake Gearhart scored on a driving layup, then Ryan Miles-Ferguson scored four quick points to push the Clarkson advantage back to 10 points. After Lyndon's Jayden Macknail (Camillus, NY) connected on a three-pointer just before the shot clock expired, Clarkson went on a 14-2 run to extend their lead to 45-26 with 2:22 to go in the half.
At that point, Lyndon went on a run of their own, and got back within 11 following Justin Phillips' (Phoenix, AZ) transition basket with 20 seconds left in the half. Matteo Sinon then scored off of a scramble for a loose ball just before the buzzer to give the Golden Knights a 50-37 lead at intermission.
After the two teams traded scores in the early going of the second half, two Antonio Carlisle (St. Johnsbury, VT) free throws and a three pointer from Mondwell Bukle (Pyeongtaek, South Korea) cut the Clarkson lead to single digits at 54-46 with 16:29 to go. Lyndon had three chances to cut into the lead further, but the Hornets missed a layup and committed back to back turnovers, the second of which led to a Rainville three that pushed the lead back into double figures.
The Hornets kept hanging around, and when Lopez drained a three and was fouled, he completed the four-point play to make it 63-56, Clrakson with 10:15 to go. Clarkson responded with a 10-0 run over the next two and a half minutes, and the Hornets would not threaten the rest of the way.
Miles-Ferguson led Clarkson with a game high 23 points, including going 4/5 from behind the arc. Gearhart added 20 points and five assists. Jack Dalgety chipped in 18 points and seven rebounds and Rainville also reached double figures with 10 points.
Bukle and Lopez were the only Lyndon players to reach double figures, as each finished with 12 points. Jayden Phillips (Tempe, AZ) pulled down a game high eight rebounds.
Next weekend the Hornets will travel to Daytona Beach, FL, for the annual Mauro Panaggio Tournament, hosted by SUNY Brockport at DME Academy. Next Sunday, Lyndon will square off against Illinois College at 2:00 pm. That game will follow the tournament opener between host SUNY Brockport and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, which tips at noon. The following day the two winners will meet for the tournament champinonship, which will be preceeded by a consolation game.
