(Canton, N.Y.)- The SUNY Canton men’s basketball team used a strong spurt to close the first half en route to a 67-45 win over Vermont Technical College Saturday afternoon at Roos House.

The Roos (3-8) shot 46 percent from the field and out rebounded the Knights 44-33 to capture their first win of the New Year.

SUNY Canton fell behind 5-0 in the opening minutes of Saturday’s contest and again trailed by five points, 8-3, with 16:11 left before junior guard Khalid Vaughn (New York, N.Y.) and senior guard Ryan Lamica (Constable, N.Y.) scored on back-to-back layups to close the gap to 8-7. Vaughn converted a three-point play after being fouled making a layup five minutes later that put the home team on top 14-13. Vermont Tech went back ahead 15-14 with just under 10 minutes left, but the Roos put the game out of reach closing the half on a stunning 22-8 run to lead 36-23 at halftime.

The Roos lead was extended to 21 points early in the second half after a Lamica three-pointer with 14:40 on the clock, and SUNY Canton, thanks to a balanced attack and solid clock management, held on to a double-double digit lead for the remainder of the game.

Vaughn dropped in a game-high 19 points and he also had seven rebounds and three assists to pace the home squad. Lamica finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Sophomore forward Xzavier Fisher (Plymouth, Pa.) added 11 points and nine rebounds and sophomore guard Tyler Ellison (New York, N.Y.) contributed four points, six rebounds and three steals.

Alex Tyrrell led the Knights with 13 points and four rebounds and Josh Lindsey added 11 rebounds and nine points.

The Roos return to their home court on Sunday when they take on the University of Maine at Presque Isle at 2 p.m. at Roos House.