MBB Can't Close Gap Late at SVC

BENNINGTON, Vt. – Holding off a late run by Mitchell College that saw the visitors cut its deficit to just three points, Southern Vermont College took home a 78-68 win in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball showdown at the Mountaineer Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.

With the season sweep of Mitchell, Southern Vermont finished the regular season with a 16-9 overall record and a 10-6 mark in the NECC. The Mariners fell to 16-6 on the season, 11-3 in league play. The .625 conference winning percentage is the best for SVC since the 2010-11 year in which the Mountaineers went 9-5 (.643).

Rayshawn Taylor led the Mountaineers with 18 points while coming off the bench, adding four rebounds and three assists before fouling out. The Mariners had four players with at least 10 points including senior forward Joshua Ford, who tallied a game-high 21 and added 15 rebounds for the double-double. Junior forward Parris Hill recorded 19 points and pulled down a game-high 24 boards, the fourth-highest total in Division III this season. The 24 rebounds were also the most by a Mitchell player in its DIII era.

Southern Vermont shot 41 percent from the field (28-for-68) while holding the Mariners to a season-low 26-percent clip (23-for-88). Mitchell owned a 60-52 advantage on the boards and tallied 23 second-chance points to SVC's 11. Both sides had 34 points in the paint, but the Mountaineer's depth led to the win as SVC's bench scored 45 points while no Mitchell reservist made the point column.

Eddie Mack III added 16 points from the pine for Southern Vermont while Blair Manners added eight and a team-high 14 rebounds. Antoine White chipped in with nine points and five boards while dishing out a game-best seven assists, making him the SVC single season assist record holder with 111. Izzy Melton came off the bench to net six points and grab 10 rebounds in the win.

Sophomore guard Frank Martin ended the day with 14 points while senior forward Anthony Epps added 11 points and eight rebounds in the effort for the Mariners.

Southern Vermont held its largest lead of the day with 13:11 to go in the game, a 54-36 advantage after Melton knocked down a jumper out of an SVC timeout. From there, however, Mitchell made a 9-1 run over the next three minutes to close it to 55-45. Mack ended that stretch by taking a pass from White and hitting one from deep, but MC responded with nine unanswered--including a slam by Ford--to make it a 58-54 Mountaineer lead.

After Taylor hit a pair of free throws with 4:12 on the clock to make it 62-56, senior guard Alex Del Rio spotted up and drained a three-ball to make it a one-possession game. Not to be deterred, Southern Vermont sophomore forward Dolapo Olugbile went strong to the hoop, getting the layup to count while drawing the foul. He knocked down the free throw to give SVC a 65-59 lead with 3:01 remaining.

Mitchell once again cut it to a six-point deficit at 68-62 with a pair of freebies by Hill, but the Mountaineers continued to convert on the offensive end to keep MC from getting any closer the rest of the way. A pair of free throws by Olugbile would seal the deal as Southern Vermont handed Mitchell just its third conference loss of the season.

The early going of the game saw a back-and-forth battle that most expected with Ford giving the Mariners a 6-2 lead after an and-one play just a minute and a half into the contest. That would be Mitchell's biggest lead of the game, however, as Southern Vermont started to get its offense clicking, taking a 19-12 lead after Mack swiped the ball and fed Brandon Casella for a three with 11:05 to go in the first.

Mitchell stayed close after a pair from the line by Ford made it 24-18, but the Mountaineers scored the next eight points to open it up to 32-18 with 4:51 left in the stanza. Epps hit one-of-two free throws at the 1:58 mark, but Southern Vermont closed out the half with seven unanswered points to take a commanding 39-24 lead into the break.

Taylor led all players at intermission with 11 points while Hill and Ford had seven apiece; Hill grabbed 11 of his rebounds in the first half. Southern Vermont had six steals in the first 20 minutes while Mitchell was held without a takeaway. The Mountaineers were 4-for-8 from three-point distance in the first.

Mitchell will next play at Elms College on Wednesday, February 19 at 6 p.m. A win by the Mariners would secure first place in the NECC standings.