Men's Basketball Finally On Track

The Lyndon State College Men's Basketball team finally has a pulse.

After an 0-14 start to the season amongst several blowouts, the Hornets have claimed four out of their last six games.

If there was one game to look at as a sudden turning point, it would be the Saturday double-overtime thriller in which the Hornets beat New England College 99-98 in arguably the most exciting game of the season. Freshman guard Devyn Baranauskas hit a buzzer-beater as time expired, propelling the Hornets to what was their third win in five games.

Freshman point guard Daquan Vaughan feels that the dramatic win was a turning point in the season.

"That (game against NEC) felt good. We got another win in our belt… After that win, we've been going together," Vaughan said.

Things continued to roll with a 71-63 home win over Johnson State College on Tuesday.

Head Coach Joe Krupinski credits the recent surge to the new slate of incoming freshmen for this semester.

"We just didn't have enough numbers for what we were trying to do (in the first semester). It's allowed us to play faster," Krupinski said.

Vaughan is one of those new players. Though he did not think that the team played well in the early going of his arrival, he recognizes that things are finally starting to come together.

"As the season progressed, we've been gelling better and everybody's accepting their role," Vaughan said.

There are six games left on the slate for the Hornets, who need to hold off Green Mountain and Maine Maritime to make the North Atlantic Conference playoffs. As of right now the Hornets hold the number seven seed in the NAC standings.

Coach Krupinski believes that the team can sneak up on potential NAC playoff opponents.

"We can be that team that causes problems in the tournament, but we got to prove it now," Krupinski said.

The Hornets' next game is a Tuesday home game against Middlebury College. Tip-off starts at 7 p.m.