SVC Pulls Away From MBB in Second Half

BENNINGTON, Vt. — The Mitchell College men's basketball team fell to Southern Vermont College on Saturday afternoon by a 94-76 final in New England Collegiate Conference action at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.

SVC's DeShawn Hamlet became the 10th men's basketball player in program history to reach the 1,000 career-point milestone, scoring a team-best 28 points in the win. Casey Hall swatted 10 Mitchell shots to give him 58 blocks on the season, surpassing the previous SVC single season mark of 53.

For Mitchell, Joshua Ford also reached a milestone. The senior forward pulled down four rebounds and became the first player in program history to record 1,000 career boards. He becomes only the second active player in Division III to surpass the milestone.

Southern Vermont remained perfect in NECC action, moving to 12-0 against the league and 18-3 overall. The win also secured a first-round bye in the conference postseason tournament. Mitchell fell to 8-11 on the year and 5-6 in conference play.

Hamlet added a game-best 10 rebounds on the day for his sixth double-double of the year, going 10-for-14 from the floor. Hall scored 14 points, missing out on the triple-double with seven rebounds, while Nate Goldsmith came off the bench to provide 10 points and four assists in reserve time. Antoine White notched eight points and a game-high five assists to go with six rebounds in the win.

Mitchell's Parris Hill led all players with 29 points, adding a team-high eight rebounds in the effort. Donavan McClean followed with 16 points and seven boards while Frank Martin chipped in with nine points and a pair of helpers.

The Mountaineers shot 51 percent from the floor (35-for-69) on the day, holding the Mariners to a 36-percent effort (27-for-76). SVC outscored Mitchell 54-28 in the paint while the Mountaineers held a 21-13 edge in points off turnovers.

Hall made a nice turnaround jumper from the top of the key in the early going, but Martin responded with a three-ball on the other end to make it a 6-5 SVC lead. That preceded seven unanswered Mariner points, capped by a McClean trey that put Mitchell in front 12-6 and forced a Southern Vermont timeout. A pair of Hamlet layups cut it to 12-10, but the Mariners came back to pad their advantage on a nice floater through the lane by Alan Morgan.

As the teams traded baskets, SVC's William Bromirski drilled a three from the right side of the arc to make it a 24-23 Mitchell lead, only to have the visitors respond with a pair of scores on the other end for a five-point advantage. Southern Vermont continued to hit baskets to make it close, only to see the Mariners answer to maintain their lead through the closing minutes of the half.

Hamlet stepped up and knocked down a trey on the right side of the arc to make it 39-39, but Martin hit a pair of free throws after being fouled to put his team back on top. From there, however, the Mountaineers scored eight straight points before Hill hit a layup right before the buzzer, sending the teams to the locker rooms with SVC ahead 47-43. The charity stripe was big for the visitors down the stretch with Mitchell going 8-for-8 to keep Southern Vermont from obtaining major momentum.

The second half was a different story as the Mitchell offense couldn't quite click, shooting just 27 percent from the floor in the stanza. Southern Vermont outscored Mitchell 47-33 in the final 20 minutes, opening up a lead that would not be challenged by the Mariners.

White made a slick cut through the lane with the ball and laid it in for two early after the break, but Mitchell came back with a 7-0 run to cut it to a one-point contest (53-52). The game wouldn't be that close, however, as SVC used an 11-1 run to open things back up; Hamlet scored seven points in that stretch, inching him closer to his milestone.

Mitchell did not go quietly, chipping away at the lead to make it 66-61 on a pair of Ford free throws at the 11:14 mark. But over the next seven minutes, Southern Vermont outscored Mitchell 19-5 to put the game out of reach. SVC was 9-for-10 from the line during that time, helping to pad a comfortable lead that led to its 11th straight victory.

Mitchell will next play at Newbury College on Wednesday, February 11 at 6 p.m.