Hornets fire off four straight

            The Lyndon State College men's basketball team has been riding high of late on a four game North Atlantic Conference winning streak. 

            Lyndon's current 4-1 conference record is the team's best start ever in NAC conference play.  The team's most recent win came on Tuesday at home when it completed a 91-54 bashing of the Johnson State Badgers.   Prior to that win, in reverse chronological order, the team beat Maine-Farmington 78-75, Thomas College 107-96, and beat Maine Maritime on the road 72-66.

            The Hornets are currently tied for second place in the NAC Conference with Castleton, who they play for the first time this season on Saturday.  They sit one game behind an undefeated Husson team that handed the Hornets a 41-point loss 102-61 in LSC's first conference game of the season.  Head coach Joe Krupinksi says that loss proved to be a silver lining for the team.

            "We've kind of come together and played with a lot more focus and more intensity," said Krupinski.  "After the Husson game I think we all did some soul searching and realized this isn't how we want the season to go."

            Lyndon went 1-10 in non-conference play at the end of the first semester, however that was part of coach Krupinski's strategy for success in conference. The only games that count toward NAC playoff seeds are conference games, with non-conference games being the tiebreaker.

            "I'd like to attribute it (our recent success) to our tough schedule in the non-conference," said Krupinski. "We didn't win many games, but we're playing some good teams and hopefully that's paying off now."

            Phil Warrick continues to be a critical part of the Hornets offensive attack, and was named NAC men's basketball player of the week for the week ending Jan. 24.   In the past four games, Warrick has scored 87 points, including the game-winning basket with a few seconds remaining on the clock vs. Maine-Farmington.

            "He's really been maturing and blossoming since the second semester started," said Krupinski.  "He had some big games in the first semester, but he's been playing with a much better purpose and focus of late."

            Beyond Warrick, more of the freshmen recruits are becoming an active part of the Hornet's lineup. Rob Alers, D.J. Santos, and Antonio Mena have all received appreciable playing time off the bench recently, as opposed to the first semester when returners carried the load.

            "We like our returners, they're good players," said Krupinski.  "We try to expect a lot from them because they've been through the war so to speak. Our philosophy has always been to play the guys who will help us win whatever age they are."