(Poultney, VT) - The Green Mountain College men's basketball team is looking to sweep their North Atlantic Conference series with Johnson State Saturday at 4:00 pm.  The Eagles, fresh off a NAC victory over Lyndon State on Tuesday, are hoping for their first back-to-back conference victories this season.

Against Lyndon St., Rui Carmo (Cape Coral, FL) scored a game-high 38 points and the  6-11 (3-5, NAC) Eagles out-scored the visitors 28-12 in the paint en route to a 77-69 victory.

Trailing by one at the 17 minute mark of the second half, the Eagles blew the game open with a 17-4 run over the ensuing five minutes thanks to 11 points from Carmo and a pair of treys by Billy Fuel (Bullhead City, AZ) and Gerald Kimbrough (Harlem, NY).  Lyndon wouldn't relent, ripping off 10 straight points including six from freshman O'Bee Byrd (Waterbury, CT) to pull within two at 57-55. 

After trading baskets, GMC took control down the stretch going 5-for-7 from the charity stripe to salt the game away.

The Eagles shot 45.2 percent from the field on the night and sank 15 free-throws to Lyndon's seven.  Carmo added 18 boards to his 38 points and swatted a pair of shots while Gerard Johnson (Binghamton, NY) tallied a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Fuel notched 12 points for the Eagles going 3-for-6 from the floor and chipped in with a pair of assists.

Carmo continues his torrid scoring pace averaging 25.6 ppg in conference play (29.4, overall) and currently sits 2^nd in NCAA DIII.  The senior forward also leads the NAC in rebounding, pulling down 11.2 per outing. 

The Badgers enter tomorrow's contest with a 5-14 mark (1-7, NAC) after dropping their most recent contest to Castleton. 

Castleton State College shot 64% from the field, and 75% in the decisive second half to capture a 73-56 win.

Johnson State held a slim 32-31 lead at halftime, after battling through a first half that saw both teams shoot 54% from the field and endure 11 lead changes and 7 ties. A Mike Knight (Spring Valley, NY) lay-up 53 seconds into the second half gave Castleton a lead it would not relinquish.

Leandro Martinez (Philadelphia, PA) canned five first-half three-pointers to lead the Badger offense with 15 points. Nate Dodge (Burlington, VT) and Chuck Harper (Philadelphia, PA) each added 11 for the Badgers.

In their last meeting, the Eagles edged the Badgers 75-53.  The combination of Rui Carmo and Trent Morgan (Streetsboro, OH) tallied 52 of the Eagles 75 points in the win.

The Eagles return to action Tuesday night when they head to Castleton for an 8:00 pm match-up against the Spartans.