Castine, ME - In a game that was tightly contested throughout, Northern Vermont University-Lyndon was able to get past Maine Maritime Academy, 94-91, in North Atlantic Conference men's basketball on Friday evening. With the win, Lyndon improved to 6-13 on the season and 3-5 in conference play. MMA fell to 7-12 overall and 3-7 in conference.
MMA scored the first five points of the contest on their way to an early 12-5 lead following Carter Rubin's three-point goal. Lyndon would climb back, however, and Peyton Olsen's (Middleburgh, NY) free throws woudl tie things at 15-15 at the 13:09 mark. The Hornets would take their first lead at 18-17 a few seconds later on a Mondwell Bukle (Pyeongtaek, South Korea) free throw.
The Lyndon lead would be short lived, as Markus Ramirez would drain a three to put MMA back in front. MMA would maintain a slim lead for the next several minutes, and eventually extend their advantage to eight points following a Malachi Reincke jumper with 7:17 to go in the half. Lyndon would hang around, however. With MMA in front, 46-38, Gregory Gonyea Jr. (Dolgeville, NY) would score five straight points and Olsen would follow with a layup to cut the lead back to one. The Mariners then had a quick six point burst before a pair of Olsen free throws would send the teams into halftime with Maine Maritime leading, 52-47.
The Hornets would get four straight defensive stops to start the second half, converting them into eight quick points to grab a 55-52 lead. The Hornets were able to maintain the slim lead, but couldn't pull away from the Mariners. With 11:38 to go in the game, Connor Tuerff's layup tied the game at 69-69. A Gonyea layup and a Tyrese Harris (Fort Benning, GA) thre-pointer quickly put the Hornets back up by five.
The Lyndon lead would grow to eight points following Brett Roy's (Newport, VT) putback basket at the 8:04 mark. Bavk to back threes from Reincke and Omar Chambers, followed by a Curt Heinz free throw, would get the Mariners back within one. The Hornets would steady things, however, and hold onto the slim lead until Reincke's rebound basket tied the game at 89-89 with 1:30 to go.
Lyndon would come up empty on their next two possessions, and when Reincke scored with 22 seconds to go, Maine Maritime had a two-point advantage. Lyndon pushed the ball back up the floor, and Olsen scored and was fouled with 14 seconds to go. He converted the free throws to give the Hornets a one-point lead. The Hornets got a defensive stop on the next Mariner possession, then Gonyea converted a pair of free throws with 0.6 seconds left to ice the win.
Olsen and Gonyea both scored 31 points to lead Lyndon. Olsen added eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Gonyea was a very efficient 12/18 from the floor. Bukle also reached double figures with 15 points.
Reincke paced MMA with 21 points. Heinz posted a double double with 15 points and 20 rebounds. Ramirex added 14 points while Chambers and Rubin chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively.
The same two teams will run iot back on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off in Castine is scheduled for 3:00 pm.
