Lyndonville, VT - For the fourth consecutive game the Vermont State University Lyndon men's basketball team found itself facing a double digit second half deficit when they faced the State University of New York at Cobleskill this afternoon. And for the fourth consecutive game the Hornets staged a furious late game rally to close within a single possession in the game's final minutes. However unlike the last three contests, today the Hornets were able to get over the hump and come away with a 111-108 North Atlantic Conference victory. Lyndon improved to 7-13 on the season and 5-8 in NAC play, while Cobleskill fell to 9-11 overall and 8-6 in conference.
After Lyndon's Matt Doyle (Whitesboro, NY) scored on the Hornets' first possession, Cobleskill responded with a 13-2 run to take control early in the contest. The Tigers maintained their lead throught the opening half, extending it to as much as 40-25 following an Andrew Wright free throw at the 4:09 mark. The Hornets were able to chip away somewhat the remainder of the half, with the Tigers taking a 51-41 advantage into intermission.
Coblaskill was able to maintain a comfortable margin through much of th second half. When the tigers' MJ Ford converted a breakaway layup off of a Hornet turnover, the Tigers led, 71-60, with 12:59 remaining. A quick seven point Hornet run over the next minute, capped by a Dylan Hosford (Richfield Springs, NY) layup brought Lyndon back within four, but the Tigers answered with a seven point run of their own capped by a basket and free throw from Emelio Nabli to push the lead back to 11 with just under 11 minutes to go.
Lyndon would continue to chip away from that point, and Wesley McIntyre's (Troy, NY) layup with 7:49 remaining made it a one possession game at 85-83. The Tigers were again able to stem the Lyndon run, and when Marquay Tanksley converted a layup and a free throw, the lead was back at 11, 95-84, with 6:14 remaining. The Hornets again battled back to get within three points on several occasions.
After Cameron Rhode's layup gave Cobleskill a five point advantage, Owen Traynor (Rutland, VT) drained a corner three-pointer to bring Lyndon within two at 103-101, the closest the Hornets had been since the game's opening minutes. After Nabli made one of two free throws, Gregory Gonyea Jr. (Dolgeville, NY) made a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game at 104-103 with 2:15 left.
On the ensuing inbounds, Christian Hathorn (Wilder, VT) came up with a steal and scored, giving the Hornets their first lead since 2-0. Cobleskill quickly regained the lead on Ford's driving layup, but McIntyre found Xavier Rainwater (Frisco, TX) free at the basket for a layup to put Lyndon back in front. Lyndon got a defensive stop on the next Cobleskill possession. McIntyre was then fouled and converted both free throws to give the Hornets a 109-106 lead with 43 seconds to go. Ford again got to the basket and scored to make it a one-point game, but Gonyea answered with two free throws to push the advantage back to three. Cobleskill had two contested three-point attempts on their final possession, but both were off the mark and the Hornets escaped with the victory.
McIntyre tallied a game high 32 points, including converting nine of ten free throws, and dished out nine assists to lead Lyndon. Gonyea also hit the 30 point mark on only 11 field goal attempts. He made 17 of 20 free throws and added six steals and five assists. Max Kocha (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) was six of eight from the floor for 14 points. He also grabbed nine boards. Traynor also reached double figures with 11 points on four of six shooting, including connecting on all three of his three-point attempts.
Cobleskill got 20 points apiece from Ford and Nabli. Wright finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Tanksley added 13 points and nine boards. Rhode and Conor Holland also reached double figures with 11 points each.
Lyndon returns to action on Friday evening when they host Maine Maritime Academy. Tip-off in Stannard Gymnasium is set for 5:30 pm.
