Men's Basketball Finishes Final Week of Semester 1-1
December 5, 2012

Men's Basketball Finishes Final Week of Semester 1-1

Lose to NHTI 81-75; Defeat Paul Smith's 85-73

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Randolph Center, VT - The Vermont Tech Men's Basketball team followed up a tough loss to NHTI on Wednesday, by defeating Paul Smith's College at home on Saturday, December 8th. The win was a welcome one, as it was the final game of the semester and allows the team to head into the winter break on a high note.

NHTI, the top team in the Western Division of the YSCC came to Randolph ready to play, scoring the first four points of the game through a Junior Brown jumper followed closely by a Anthwan Harris J. Josh Lindsey (Sr./Palm Bay, FL) got the Knights on the board, continuing his stellar play of late. Lindsey finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks.

With 11:57 left in the half, Sam Marler (Fr./Sydney, Australia) knocked down 2 free throws, making the game 15-13 in favor of NHTI. Marler had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists on the day. From the point, the Lynx went on a 19-7 run, with Freshman Kyle Kissenberth (Winter Park, FL) being the only Knight to score. Kissenberth finished with a team and game high 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting, including 3-3 from 3 point range. The score at the end of the run was 34-20 and at the break, the Knights were down 47-34.

Coach Leazier must have had some halftime speech, as the Knights came out with an incredible sense of urgency in the second half. Vermont Tech score 18 points in a row to start the half, not allowing a basket by their opponent until the 12:47 mark. The Knights went from 13 down to up 4. NHTI quickly tied the score at 58 and then went up 2 on 2 Besfort Syla jumpers, and Jackson Reid hitting 2 free throws. From that point the Lynx would never again relinquish the lead, holding the Knights at arm's length as they fought for the six point victory.

For NHTI, Nick Porter had 12 to match his teammate Reid. Harris had 11, and the team was led by Syla's 15. Senior Alex Tyrrell (Sydney, Australia) had 17 points on the day for the Knights.

On Saturday, VTC welcomed Paul Smith's College to Randolph. The Bobcats were a completely different animal from the Lynx, as when NHTI used athleticism and size, Paul Smith's used three point shooting to keep themselves in the game. In the end, the Bobcats shot 48% from behind the arc, 14-29, which equated to more than half of their overall 73 points in the game. In comparison, VTC went just 6-18 from three, but shot almost 53% overall from the field. The Knights used a much more potent inside attack, getting into the lane and relying on their size and speed advantage to get easy buckets. The Knights' strategy prevailed, producing a 85-73 victory.

Tyrrell scored an impressive 29 points, also garnering 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Lindsey went for 22 points, 9 rebounds and Marler again had a great stat line with 17 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Kissenberth hit double digits with 11 on the day. Adam Klock matched Tyrrell with 29 points of his own for Paul Smith's, going 11-16 from the field, 6-9 from three. He also grabbed 9 rebounds, tying him for the game high with Lindsey and his teammate, Alex Medina. Devon Carr was second in scoring for the Bobcats, reaching 17.

The Knights complete the first part of their season with an overall of only 5-6, but a YSCC record of 5-2. They now get almost an entire month off to rest and recover before again jumping back on the court in January. Their initial week back is difficult, as they first travel to SUNY Canton for a battle with the Roos on Saturday, January 5th, before heading back home to take of the University of Maine Fort Kent on Monday the 7th and Northern Maine CC on Wednesday the 9th. The week ends with another game against SUNY, this time on the Knights' home court on Friday the 11th.