Lyndonvillle, VT - Trailing Thomas College at halftime, Northern Vermont University-Lyndon used a 19-0 run to start the second half to take control of Saturday's North Atlantic Conference men's basketball game.  The Hornets would hold off the Terriers the rest of the way to earn a 102-87 victory.  Lyndon, winners of three in a row, improved to 5-13 on the season and 2-5 in NAC play.  Thomas fell to 3-13 on the season and 2-5 in conference.

The Hornets got off to a fast start, and after back to back three-pointers from Peyton Olsen (Middleburgh, NY) held an 18-10 lead just under six minutes into the game.  Thomas would counter with a run of their own, and tie things up at 20-20 on a Jacob Bouchard three-pointer.  Antonio Carlisle's (St. Johnsbury, VT) three game Lyndon back the lead, which would eventually grow to ten on a Brett Roy (Newport, VT) layup at the 8:41 mark.

Thomas took advantage of some sloppy Lyndon play to again get back into it, and when Rico Limacaoco connected from distance the Terriers had their first lead at 36-35 with 6:52 remaining in the half.  The Terrier lead would grow to as much as five points, but Lyndon would pull back even on a pair of Olsen free throws.  Mondwell Bukle (Pyeongtaek, South Korea) scored to put the Hornets back in front, but a three by James Phelan tipped the advantage back to Thomas and the Terriers headed into intermission with a 55-54 lead.

Both teams were hot from the floor in the opening half.  Thomas connected on 21 of 37 shots (56.6%) from the floor, including 10/16 from behind the arc.  Meanwhile Lyndon was 20/37 (55.6%), including 8/15 (53.3%) from distance.

The start of the second half would prove to be a different story.  The Hornet defense would stiffen and hold Thomas scoreless over the first 6:35 of the half.  Lyndon would take advantage and run off 19 unanswered points, with ten of them coming from Olsen.  Lyndon would lead 73-55 when the Terriers' Parker Desjardins broke the run with a three-pointer.  Lyndon would continue to extend the lead, however, and when Bukle drained a long three the Hornets had their biggest lead of the game, 83-62, with 10:05 to go.

The Terriers would not go quietly, and began chipping away at the lead.  Phelan's three-pointer cut the lead to ten, 90-80, with 4:30 to go.  Lyndon steadied things with a pair of Olsen baskets, increasing the lead back to 14, and Thomas wouldn't get any closer than ten the rest of the way.

The story of the second half was the Hornet defensive effort.  Lyndon limited Thomas to 8/34 (23.5%) shooting after intermission, including only 2/14 (14.3%) from behind the arc.  The Hornets also dominated on the glass, outrebounding Thomas 33-18 in the second half.

Olsen had an extremely efficient 32-point outing to lead Lyndon.  He was 9/13 from the field, 3/3 from the three-point line, and 11/13 from the foul line.  He added six rebounds and four assists, and drew 12 fouls.  Bukle added 22 points and five assists while Gregory Gonyea Jr. (Dolgeville, NY) chipped in 15 points.  Justin Phillips (Phoenix, AZ) posted a double double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.  Phillips was +33 in his 32 minutes on the court.

Desjardins and Phelan shared scoring honors for Thomas, each finishing with 19 points,.  Matthew Hadnot was the only other Terrier in double figures, adding 16 points.

The Hornets will travel to Maine Maritime Academy next weekend for a pair of NAC contests.  Lyndon and MMA will tip at 7:30 pm on Friday and run it back on Saturday at 3:00 pm.