Following the Lyndon women’s basketball win over NVU-Johnson, the men’s basketball teams of both Northern Vermont University campuses took to the court for their own matchup. The Hornets were starting the game with a North Atlantic Conference record of 1-5 and an overall record of 4-12. However, after a strong showing from the Johnson Badgers, Lyndon’s NAC record would fall to 1-6 and their overall record would fall to 4-13 after a 79-98 scoring game in favor of the visiting Badgers.
Although Johnson won the tip-off, the Lyndon Hornets were quick to regain control of the ball without giving up any points. Lead by Kyle Carey (22), Lyndon scored four times, quickly leading the game in a score of 10-0. Johnson’s Zach Shedd (25) finally put a couple points on the board for his team before Hornet Peyton Olsen (23) continued Lyndon’s point lead with a basket of his own.
The first half continued to be back and forth from there, but Johnson slowly started to gain more momentum. For every basket scored by the Lyndon Hornets, the Johnson Badgers seemed to score two others. By mid-first half, the teams were only a few points apart and continued to score. The half ended with a score of 39-41 favoring the visiting Badgers.
This small lead was the push that Johnson needed. They began the second half as Lyndon did the first, scoring 8 points and shutting out the Hornets. Lyndon’s Zach Falkenburg (4) was able to break through Johnson’s defenses first to get the Hornets back on track. Though the game seemed to be in Johnson’s favor, the Hornets rallied to diminish the point gap on several occasions. However, they were not able to shut down Johnson’s top scorer, Floyd Davis (11), who seemed to have cinched Johnson’s victory. Although a high scoring game, Lyndon’s defensive strategy was strong enough to prevent the Badgers from scoring the extra two points that would’ve brought their score into the triple digits.
The game ended 79-98, giving the Badgers another NAC Conference win. While most of the Hornets were able to add to their team score, it was Falkenburg and Damon Denteh (10) who both contributed 16 points for their team. Hornet Cary was able to rebound eight balls during the game, which added to the baskets Lyndon was able to make. It was an honorable defeat, overall.
The men’s basketball team will be visiting Plymouth State and the University of Maine – Presque Isle for their next week of contests. Their next home game will be against Husson on February 7 at 7:30 PM in the Stannard Gymnasium, following the women’s basketball game.
Feature Photo by Alexandra Huff: As NVU-Johnson starts to gain traction, Zach Falkenburg (4) and his team of Hornets step up their defensive play.