Farmington, ME - Fourth seeded Northern Vermont University-Lyndon went toe to toe with top seeded University of Maine at Farmington in Friday evening's North Atlantic Conference men's basketball quarterfinal. Unfortunately the Hornet upset bid came up short, as the host Beavers escaped with a 78-70 victory. UMF improved to 18-7 on the season. The Beavers advanced to Saturday's semifinal, where they will take on third seeded University of Maine at Presque Isle, a 97-87 winner over second seeded Husson University in Friday's second quarterfinal. Lyndon ends their season at 6-20.
The first half was tightly contested throughout. Lyndon took a 27-25 lead on a driving layup by Tyrese Harris (Fort Banning, GA) with 4:27 to go in the half. Back to back baskets from Terion Moss and Kyle Donlin put the Beavers back in front but a corner three-pointer form Mondwell Bukle (Pyeongtaek, South Korea) made it 30-29, Lyndon, with 22 seconds to go. It looked like the Hornets would take that lead into halftime, but a Donlin tip-in that appeared to be just after the buzzer was ruled good, giving the Beavers a 31-30 lead at the break.
Donlin connected on a second chance three-pointer on the first possession of the second half, extending the Beaver lead to four. UMF looked like they grabbed control of the game as they gradually pulled away to lead by as much as 17 following a Moss layup at the 6:39 mark.
The Hornets were not finished, however. Lyndon would start to chip away at the UMF lead, and when Antonio Carlisle (St. Johnsbury, VT) connected on a three-pointer, the lead was back into single digits at 66-57 with 3:05 to go. Moss would make three of four free throws, wrapping around a pair from Carlisle. A Calder Horowitz-McCadden layup would make it an eight point game
Two Jack Kane free throws pushed the lead back to ten, but Justin Phillips (Phoenix, AZ) scored off of a pass from Bukle, then came up with a steal and layup to make it 71-65 with 57 seconds to go. The comeback would fall short, however as UMF converted enough free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
Moss scored s game high 29 points to pace the Beavers. Kane recorded a double double with 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Donlin also chipped in 14 points.
Peyton Olsen (Middleburgh, NY) finished with 15 points to lead Lyndon. Bukle and Justin Phillips scored 14 points apiece, with Phillips grabbing a team best eight rebounds. Carlisle, the Hornets' only senior, tallied ten points in his final game in a Lyndon uniform.
UMF was 25/62 (40.3%) from the floor, including 6/20 (30.0%) from three-point range. Lyndon was only 28/79 (35.4%) and only 8/32 (25.0%) from distance. The Beavers also enjoyed a big advantage at the free throw line, converting 22 of 35, compared to only six of nine for the Hornets. UMF outrebounded Lyndon, 55-42.
The Lyndon season comes to an end in the NAC quarterfinals for the second year in a row. With Carlisle the only graduating senior, Lyndon expects to have the remainder of their roster back to form the core of the 2023-24 roster.
