Following their Friday contests, the Northern Vermont University – Lyndon Hornets once again faced the University of Maine – Presque Isle Owls in another pair of North Atlantic Conference games. The results mirrored that of Friday night’s games, but the scores and gameplay told a much different story.
At 1:00 Saturday afternoon, the men’s basketball team took to the court. The Presque Isle Owls knew that the Hornets would be coming back with a vengeance, so they quickly took control of the tip-off and freshman Parker Onorato (5) scored the first 3 points of the game. Lyndon freshman Kyle Cary (22) worked with his team to quickly recover and scored his own 2-point basket shortly after. The Owls, however, quickly took control of the game, turning the score into 2-13 before Cary (22) was able to score again. He was followed by 2-point shots by Lyndon freshman Dylan Torello (15) and Lyndon junior Damon Denteh (12).
The Hornets rallied to shut out Presque Isle for a full three minutes. The score read 8-16 at this point, and then Lyndon sophomore Ricky Shuford (0) was put into the game. Shuford (0) scored five points back-to-back for the Hornets. Recognizing this new threat, the Owls changed their gameplay and the rest of the half was spent with equal back and forth from both teams. Within the first half, the Owls were only able to keep a lead of 11 points for a few seconds. Halftime was marked with a score of 30-35 favoring the Owls, a very different game than what fans saw Friday night.
The second half began with Owl sophomore Shyquinn Dix (10) scoring 3 points, followed by Cary (22) with a 2-point shot. Shuford (0) once again ran wild on the court and scored an unbelievable amount of points for the Hornets. However, Presque Isle slowly strengthened their lead from a few points to nearly 20 points. That did not stop the Hornet spirit. With the fans backing them up, Shuford (0) and the Lyndon team worked together to shorten the gap to ten points before the final buzzer. The final score read 68-78, the victory going to the Owls. The Lyndon men’s record now stands at 2-18, their North Atlantic Conference record being 0-9.
Throughout the game, Shuford (0) scored his season record of 30 points, beating his previous season record of 20 during a home contest against St. Joseph’s in November. However, his personal record still stands at 31 points from a game at Green Mountain last year. Cary (22) once again had the most rebounds for the Hornets, grabbing the ball nineteen times after a missed shot.
The women’s basketball teams took to the court for a 3:00 game shortly thereafter. The game began with two free throws from Lyndon junior Alissa Mitchell (20), followed by Lyndon winning the tip-off. Presque Isle junior Rhylee Wright (5) was able to tie the score 2-2 following. The Hornets worked together to show the Owls that they meant business, scoring several 2-point shots and foul shots. The Presque Isle women did not take kindly to this and rallied to tie up the score once again, 12-12, by the end of the first quarter.
This attitude stuck through the beginning of the second quarter. Both teams played defensively, causing over two minutes of shutout. Presque Isle was able to get their first point lead of the game but were quickly shut down by scores from Lyndon freshmen Ashlynn Bardos (22) and Lea Crompton (32). After a quick timeout, Owl sophomore Kendra Silvers (24) gained another short lead on the Hornets before Mitchell (20) and freshman Tayler Courchesne (15) ended the second quarter with a score of 22-21.
Lyndon sophomore Faith Poirier (5) scored the first 3 points of the second half within the first twenty seconds. Presque Isle was quick to tie the score once again. The Hornets became more motivated by this and worked together to score even more in the third quarter and ending it with a score of 37-29. The final quarter began with foul shots by Presque Isle. This was not enough of a damper on the home team as they continued to power through the game. The Hornet’s lead grew, ending with three out of four successful foul shots by Crompton (32). The final score read 54-38, giving the Hornets their eleventh win of the season. Their North Atlantic Conference record now stands at 6-3.
Once again, this was a game where every Hornet that stepped onto the court scored points for the team. Mitchell (20) and Crompton (32) tied with 14 points each, sophomore Alisha Celley (24) catching thirteen rebounds.
The women’s basketball team has another home contest on Tuesday, January 29 starting at 6:00 against Pine Manor. Both teams will then be traveling to Maine Maritime, Husson, and SUNY Canton for four away North Atlantic Conference games. The men’s and women’s basketball teams can be seen playing on their home court for the final game of the regular season on Tuesday, February 12 against sister school Northern Vermont University – Johnson. These will also be the final North Atlantic Conference contests of the regular season. The men’s game will start at 5:30 and the women’s at 7:30. We can’t wait to see you there!