Southern Vermont Trips Up MBB

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Southern Vermont College handed the Mitchell College men's basketball team its first conference loss on Wednesday night by a 77-65 final in a New England Collegiate Conference showdown at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The Mountaineers (12-5 overall, 6-2 NECC) also snapped Mitchell's nine-game winning streak. DeShawn Hamlet led four SVC players in double figures with 23 points on 11-for-13 shooting and also pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds. Izzy Melton came off the bench to record a double-double as well, collecting 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Dolapo Olugbile and Eddie Mack III contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The duo of Parris Hill and Joshua Ford paced the Mariners (11-4 overall, 7-1 NECC). Hill led all scorers with 26 points and added seven rebounds and five blocks, and Ford notched his 14th double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 boards.

After the two teams traded baskets in the opening minutes of the contest, Southern Vermont pulled ahead on a lay-up by Hamlet and never trailed again. The Mountaineers opened up an eight-point advantage by the 14:36 mark and eventually got it to double digits on a three-pointer by Ervin Cook with 10:03 to go.

Later on in the half, SVC used a 7-0 run to take its largest lead at 40-21 on a bucket by Melton. The Mariners called a timeout with 3:12 to go to regroup, and the strategy paid off. Mitchell scored the final seven points of the half, getting a pair of scores from Ford and a three at the buzzer from Alex Del Rio to cut the margin to 40-28 at the break.

Hill and Ford combined for 22 of Mitchell's 28 points in the first half. The Mariners shot just 33 percent from the floor while SVC checked in at 49 percent. Hamlet had 12 points at intermission to pace the Mountaineers.

Mitchell squandered an opportunity to cut into the deficit at the start of the second half. Southern Vermont went without a field goal for the opening 3:14 of the stanza, and the Mariners got to within eight behind baskets by Ford and Hill. However, Mitchell also turned the ball over four times during the stretch, and the Mountaineers quickly recovered and bumped the lead back to double digits on bucket by Hamlet.

SVC never let the margin dip below double digits for the rest of the game. The Mountaineers controlled the tempo and outscored the Mariners 14-5 in fast break points. Antoine White was a force on both ends of the court, finishing with game highs of seven assists and four steals. 

Mitchell will next play at Newbury College on Saturday, January 25 at 2 p.m. Southern Vermont returns to action at home against Elms College on Saturday at 4 p.m.