MBB Falls at Southern Vermont

BENNINGTON, Vt. — With both teams shooting an even 50 percent from the floor, Southern Vermont College was able to blank the Mitchell College bench Saturday afternoon en route to a 103-87 win in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball action at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.

SVC led 58-45 after the opening 20 minutes of play before edging the Mariners by three in the second half to walk out with the league victory. The Mountaineers improved to 9-3 on the year and 3-0 in NECC action while Mitchell fell to 1-7 overall and 0-2 in conference.

Southern Vermont senior DeShawn Hamlet tallied a game-high 37 points, coming just one shy of his career-best mark while leading all players with 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. He shot 15-for-22 from the floor including a 2-for-3 clip from outside the arc.

The Mountaineers are back in action on Tuesday, welcoming Newbury College to the MAC for a 6 p.m. NECC showdown. Mitchell also plays at home on Tuesday in its next matchup, hosting Daniel Webster College for a 2 p.m. NECC tip-off.

SVC senior Casey Hall notched 16 points, six boards and four blocks in the win while classmate William Bromirski followed with 14 points on a 4-for-8 shooting performance from downtown. Freshman Josh Borders registered 11 points, two assists and two steals, and junior Rayshawn Taylor tallied 10 points off the Southern Vermont bench. Senior Jeff James dished out a game-best eight assists to go with four rebounds and two steals while junior Nate Goldsmith chipped in with seven points, eight rebounds and two assists in reserve time.

Senior Parris Hill led Mitchell with 28 points and nine rebounds in just his second game this season, tying his previous mark as he shot 10-for-24 from the floor on the day. Freshman Domenico Santiago put down 19 points and grabbed another nine boards while senior Frank Martin registered 16 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists. MC sophomore Alan Morgan dropped 12 points and put up a team-leading six assists, and senior Donavan McClean added another 12 points and three rebounds in the effort.

SVC went 39-for-78 (50 percent) from field goal range as MC was 34-for-68 (50 percent) from the floor on the day. The Mountaineers owned a 43-38 edge on the boards while using their 16-12 advantage in turnovers for a 23-14 upper hand in points off giveaways. Southern Vermont outscored Mitchell 56-32 in the paint while its bench outscored that of MC by a 23-0 margin.

The Mariners took the first lead of the contest with a made Morgan jumper in the early going, but that would be the visitors' only lead of the afternoon. Bromirski answered with his first trey on the ensuing possession, starting a 7-0 Mountaineer run that put SVC on top. Santiago dropped a pair of baskets before a Hill layup cut it to a 9-8 SVC upper hand, but a pair of Bromirski three-pointers bumped it to a 15-8 Mountaineer advantage. Back-to-back threes by Martin and Hill tied it at 18-18 with 13:08 to go in the opening period, only to see Taylor score five straight points with help from an old-fashioned three-point play to put SVC up 27-21.

Hamlet turned things on and scored 11 straight Southern Vermont points, a triple from the senior putting the Mountaineers in front 40-28. Bromirski nailed his fourth three of the day to put his team up by 15 with just over six minutes left in the half, but Mitchell was able to inch itself back to make it 47-39 after a Santiago and-one play. That difference didn't last long as SVC put down nine unanswered, six coming from Hamlet, before Taylor converted another and-one to put Southern Vermont ahead 56-39. MC registered six straight in the final 1:31 before a Borders layup at the buzzer sent the game to halftime with SVC on top 58-45.

The Mariners notched the first five points of the second stanza, but Southern Vermont was able to answer throughout the period to maintain its separation. After the Mountaineers scored seven straight, Mitchell came back with six unanswered to stay within striking distance at 65-56. That's when two Hamlet baskets from down low capped an 8-0 SVC run, and he would soon-after sink a three for the 80-63 Southern Vermont advantage at the 9:54 mark. Goldsmith rolled in a layup while being fouled, hitting the extra shot to put the Mountaineers on top comfortably at 85-71 in the late going. Scores were traded down the stretch before a pair of Hall free throws with 2:06 to go put SVC into triple digits for the fourth time this season.