CONCORD, N.H. – NHTI Men's Basketball opens its 2026-27 regular season Saturday, Oct. 31, traveling to Herkimer County Community College for a 1 p.m. matchup at Varsity Gymnasium in Herkimer, N.Y.
Saturday's contest marks the first countable game of the season for both programs, following a series of preseason scrimmages and exhibitions.
NHTI enters the regular season after playing five preseason contests over the past week, finishing 2-3 with victories over Busche Academy 2 (Oct. 24) and Roxbury Community College (Oct. 25).
The Lynx opened preseason play Saturday, Oct. 24, with a 55-54 victory over Busche Academy 2 before falling 72-61 to Busche Academy 1 later that afternoon. NHTI returned to action Sunday, Oct. 25, with a 71-70 win over Roxbury Community College before closing its preseason schedule with exhibition losses at Vermont State University Johnson, 82-73, on Tuesday, Oct. 27, and at home to Colby-Sawyer College, 82-72, Thursday, Oct. 30.
Calvin Godbolt (Springfield, Mass.) has led NHTI offensively throughout the preseason, scoring in double figures in each of his four appearances. Godbolt finished with 13 points against Busche Academy 1, 18 against Roxbury and 17 against Vermont State Johnson before recording a preseason-high 31 points against Colby-Sawyer on Thursday. He also contributed four assists in the preseason finale.
Several other Lynx have contributed during preseason play, including Jeremiah Ikpasa (New London, Conn.), who scored 14 points against Vermont State Johnson, and sophomore captain Jordan Roode (Pittsfield, N.H.), who added 16 points in the same contest. Jacobi Cumberbatch (Raymond, N.H.) also recorded 15 points in NHTI's opening scrimmage victory over Busche Academy 2.
NHTI is led by second-year head coach Kieth Matte (New London, N.H.) and joined on the sideline by his son, KJ Matte, as well as David Sheppard and Logan Paronto.
Herkimer also opens its regular season Saturday after scheduling three preseason scrimmages. No results from those contests are currently listed on the program's website.
Saturday marks the first recorded meeting between NHTI and Herkimer.
Following the season opener, NHTI continues its road trip Wednesday, Nov. 4, traveling to Central Maine Community College for a 6 p.m. non-conference matchup at Kirk Hall Gymnasium in Auburn, Maine.
Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live through Herkimer's athletics website. The live stream can be found here.
