Lyndonville, VT - Vermont State University Lyndon and Husson University put on an offensive show in Sunday afternoon's North Atlantic Conference men's basketball game. The Hornets took a four point lead into halftime and extended it to nine early in the second half. The visiting Eagles responded, however, rallying and pulling away late for a 113-99 victory over the Hornets. With the win Husson improved to 9-5 on the season and 8-1 in NAC play. Lyndon fell to 5-10 overall adn 3-5 in conference.
With 4:52 to go in the contest, Lyndon graduate student Gregory Gonyea Jr. (Dolgeville, NY) scored off of a pass from Wesley McIntyre (Troy, NY). That basket gave Gonyea 1,346 career points and moved him to the top spot on the all-time scoring list of the modern NCAA Division III era, which began in 2008 when the Hornets rejoined the NCAA and joined the NAC. Gonyea moved past Lyndon Hall of Famer Jason Gray '13, who scored 1,345 points from 2009 through 2013. Gonyea finished with a game high 32 points, giving him 1,351 in his career thus far.
The first half was a back and forth affair early on before a quick 6-0 capped by back to back Gonyea steals and layups gave the Hornets a 20-15 advantage with 12:48 to go in the half. Husson rallied to tie things at 22-22 on a Christian Smith layup. The teams weren't separated by more than two points until four straight from Owen Traynor (Rutland, VT) made it 38-33, Hornets, at the 6:12 mark. Husson responded with a 12-2 run capped by seven straight Andre McCauley points to take their biggest lead of the half at 45-40. However Lyndon closed the half on a 10-1 run to take a 50-46 lead into halftime.
The Hornets started the second half fast, and after they converted back to back steals into two Gonyea layups, Lyndon had its biggest lead at 60-51 with 17:42 to go in the game. Husson countered with a 13-0 run over the next couple of minutes, and when Connor Heald converted a layup and drained a three-pointer, the Eagles found themselves with a 64-60 lead. Back to back baskets from Matt Doyle (Whitesboro, NY) and Gonyea tied things. With just over ten minutes to go McIntyre knocked down a jump shot to bring Lyndon to within 77-76, but the Hornets were unable to retake the lead, as Husson gradually pulled away over the final ten minutes to secure the victory.
Gonyea added five steals to his game high 32 points. McIntyre was next in the Lyndon scoring column with 27 points and six assists. Xavier Rainwater (Frisco, TX) also reached double figures with 14 points. Doyle pulled down a team best seven rebounds, while Max Kocha (Palm Beach Gardens, FL).notched ten assists.
McCauley paced Husson with 29 points. Heald added 26 points and seven boards and Eric Ahlers posted a 22 point, 11 rebound double double. Gil Matondo also reached double figures with 16 points while Dylan Burpee grabbed ten rebounds and Christian Smith handed out seven assists.
Lyndon returns to action next Saturday when they host Vermont State University Johnson in another NAC contest. Tip-off is set for 1:00 pm.
