Delhi, NY - Vermont State University Lyndon battled from behind all game, but was unable to overtake Vermont State University Johnson in Friday's North Atlantic Conference men's basketball quarterfinal contest.  The second seeded Badgers broke the game open late, downing the third seeded Hornets, 95-72.  Johnson improved to 10-16 on the season, while Lyndon concluded its season at 8-18.

Johnson came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a 17-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest.  Jason Baker was the catalyst for the Badgers, scoring nine points in the opening barrage.  Lyndon began to ship away, however, and when Tyler Cooper (Sterling, NY) connected from three-point range with 5:42 to go in the half, the Hornets had pulled even at 32-32.  Johnson retook the lead on a Raymond Baka jumper, then five quick Baker points build the Badger lead back to seven.  Two Victor Kukta Reyes (Fitchburg, MA) free throws brught the Hornets to within five points at halftime.

Lyndon hung around in the early going of the second half, but the Hornets couldn't overtake the Badgers.  A Tyler Bergmans (Ferrisburgh, VT) layup cut the Johnson advantage to 52-48 at the 16:28 mark, but that would be as close as Lyndon would get.  Johnson eventually built their lead to 18 points following a Baker three pointer with 7:29 to go.  A that point, Lyndon made one more push, with eight quick points on a Cooper jumper and back to back threes from Kukta Reye to make it a ten point game with 6:24 left.  Lyndon failed to cash in on a pair of opportunities to cut the deficit further, then Baka converted two free throws to end the run, and Juhnson pulled away for the final margin.

Baker had a monster game to lead Johnson to the win.  He finished with 55 points on 19/28 shooting, including 5/10 from behind the arc.  He also grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out nine assists.  Baka also recorded a double double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.  Lukas Sward grabbed a game high 14 rebounds and Matthew Carter matched Baker with nine assists.

Cooper led the way for Lyndon, finishing with 16 points.  Bergmans was next with 14 points and Kukta Reyes hit double figures with 13 points.  Gregory Gonyea Jr. (Dolgeville, NY) led the Hornets with seven rebounds and five assists.

Johnson advanced to the NAC West semi-final, where they will take on host and top seed State University of New York at Delhi.  Delhi advanced with a 75-59 victory over fourth seeded Lesley University in Friday's first quarterfinal.