Boxscore and Play-by-Play

LYNDONVILLE, Vt.--Chris Ruiz had game highs of 29 points and 11 rebounds to lead five Cardinal scorers in double digits as the nationally No. 22-ranked Plattsburgh State men's basketball team defeated Lyndon State, 100-81, in non-conference action at Stannard Gymnasium on Monday. It was the season opener for both teams.

Ruiz also had offensive help from Errol Daniyan with 24 points, followed by Steve Thomas with 17, Josh Bruno came off the bench with 11, and R.J. Ponesse had 10.     

The Cardinals--who improve to 7-1 in season openers during the Tom Curle coaching era--trailed 40-39 at halftime and 50-49 with 15:31 remaining, but the trio of Ruiz, Daniyan and Thomas proved to be too much for Lyndon down the stretch. Ruiz tallied 23 points in the second half while Thomas and Daniyan scored 17 and 10 points, respectively, after intermission. 

Phil Warrick had 24 points to lead the Hornets and Ben Sackett added 16 points and two steals. Jose Fortunato handed out a game-high seven assists and the frontcourt tandem of O’Bee Byrd and Jason Gray had eight rebounds each. 

Plattsburgh committed only eight turnovers while forcing the Hornets into 15. The Cardinals were 36 of 81 from the field for 44.4 percent while holding the hosts to a 39.0 clip (30-77).   

(Editor's Note: A complete boxscore is not available due to technical issues by Lyndon State)