Schehectady, NY - For the second day in a row the Vermont State University Lyndon men's basketball team found themselves staring at a large first half deficit on Sunday afternoon. The Hornets rallied on several occasions but were unable to catch the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, falling 100-89 in the consolation game of the Sig Makofski Invitational, hosted by Union College. Plattsburgh improved to 2-4 with the win, while Lyndon fell to 2-5.
Plattsburgh scored the first six points of the game and gradually extended their advantage to 22, 44-22, following a pair of free throws from Franklin Infante with 6:04 to go in the opening half. The Hornets fought back and cut the deficit in half, 48-37, following a Tyler Cooper (Sterling, NY) three-pointer with 1:25 to go in the half. The Cardinals scored the final four points of the half to take a 15-point advantage into halftime.
Plattsburgh kept Lyndon at bay for most of the second half, building their lead back to as much as 21 points with 5:37 to go. The Hornets were again able to rally and got the deficit back down to 11 following a Christian Hathorn (Wilder, VT) three-pointer with 1:09 to go, but that would be as close as the Hornets would get.
Kevin Tabb topped five double figure scorers for the Cardinals, scoring 21 points on 9/15 shooting. Nate Pondexter Jr. and Infante finished with 19 and 18 points respectively and Pondexter pulled down eight rebounds. Jeremiah Smith and Sasha Vidrini rounded out the double figure scorers with 14 and ten points.
Gregory Gonyea Jr. (Dolgeville, NY) paced Lyndon with 30 points on 10/14 shooting. He also led the Hornets with eight rebounds and four assists. Cooper and Hathorn also hit double figures with 14 and 13 points respectively.
Plattsburgh shot 57.4% from the field and 50% from behind the three-point arc. The Cardinals forced 23 Lyndon turnovers and turned them into 27 points. Plattsburgh also owned a slim 39-37 rebounding advantage. Meanwhile Lyndon shot 42.4% from the floor and 27.9% from distance.
Gonyea and Tabb were named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Jack Lawson of Colby College and Jack Plesser of Union College. Colby defeated Union, 93-71, in the tournament championship game. Colby's Max Poulton was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
The Hornets will return home on Thursday evening to take on Elms College in a non-conference matchup. Tip-off in Stannard Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
