Rafael Salado chipped in 13 points for the Pilgrims in their loss to Lyndon on Sunday.
Men's Basketball edged by Lyndon State
Lyndon State College’s Cesar Martinez (E. Harlem, N.Y.) finished with a game-high 20 points leading the Hornets past the New England College Pilgrims 72-68 Sunday afternoon. The win evens the Hornets overall record at 1-1, while the loss drops the Pilgrims to 0-2 on the season.
The two teams would exchange buckets early in the game but it would be the Pilgrims who would grab the first substantial lead, up six points just five minutes into the half. The Pilgrims would hold on to the slight advantage through much of the first but the Hornets would go on a 5-0 run in the final two minutes of the half grabbing the 36-32 halftime lead.
In the second half it would be Lyndon State who would build a six point lead early but NEC would battle back tying the game at 48-48 with 12:17 remaining. The two teams would continue to battle back-and-forth throughout the second half as the Pilgrims would lead by one point with 3:46 remaining in regulation. The Lyndon defense would buckle down late as the offense would go on a 7-0 run with just two minutes remaining in regulation edging the Pilgrims 72-68.
In addition to Martinez the Hornets were led by Brad Durr (Windham, Conn.) who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Lyndon’s Jose Fortunato (Boston, Mass.) chipped in 11 points and Noah Fink (Marshfield, Vt.) finished with a game-high nine rebounds. Cesar Martinez was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Leading the way for the Pilgrims was All-Tournament selection Shane Hennessey (Plymouth, England) who finished with a team-high 18 points and six rebounds. NEC’s Rafael Salado (Boston, Mass.) chipped in 13 points for the Pilgrims and Grant Leger (Chatsworth, Calf.) scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.
