Lyndon State’s Howard Lyles goes underneath Westfield’s Carl Stewart to score one of his team high 15 points. Looking on, left to right, are Grant Cooper, Tchuijo Nkamebo, and Dan Johnson. (Photo courtesy of Westfield State)
LYNDON CENTER, VT. – Westfield State University rallied from a five-point halftime deficit to record a hard-fought 66-61 victory over Lyndon State in a non-conference men’s basketball matchup Monday, Dec. 9, at Stannard Gymnasium.
The Owls improved to 6-2 with their second straight road victory. Westfield finishes the fall semester with home games vs. Springfield College on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 7:00 p.m. and The College of New Jersey on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 2:00 p.m.
Junior captain Grant Cooper led the Owls with an 18-point, 10-rebound effort while sophomore forward Tchuijo Nkamebo added 10 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots. Dan Tessier had 13 points for Westfield State (6-2) and Jordan Santiago had three assists and four steals. Dan Johnson came off the bench to score nine key points on three 3-point baskets.
Westfield trailed 28-23 as it only shot 29 percent (8 for 27) in the first half. Apparently sluggish from the long trip north, the Owls loosened up in the second half, shooting 56 percent (14 for 25) and outscoring the host team, 43-33. Westfield, however, only shot 45 percent from the foul line (17 for 37) in the game. The Owls again played solid defense as Lyndon shot 34 percent from the field.
Howard Lyles had 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block for the Hornets (1-4) and George Carle collected a team-high nine rebounds and four assists. David Johnson chipped in eight points for Lyndon and Iser Barnes contributed nine points off the bench.
