MBB Overtakes #5 SVC in Second Half

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Fourth-seeded Mitchell College overcame a five-point halftime deficit to post a 64-53 victory over fifth-seeded Southern Vermont College on Tuesday night in the first round of the 2019 New England Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Championship at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Steffen Brunson led four Mariners in double digits with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Hasani Williams finished with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds while Domenico Santiago and Matt Finke each contributed 10 points. Santiago also pulled down 12 boards to notch a double-double.

Mitchell improved to 17-9 with the win and finished 3-0 against SVC on the season. The Mariners advance to a semifinals match-up with top-seeded New England College on Thursday, February 21 at 8 p.m.

Donnell Frayer Jr. and Andre Hodo scored 15 points apiece to pace Southern Vermont, which ended the season with an overall record of 16-9. Josh Borders added 13 points and netted his 1,000th career point midway through the first half.

Both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first half. Neither side led by more than five until the Mountaineers reeled off nine straight points to pull ahead by seven at 23-16 with 5:19 to go in the half. Borders sparked the run with a jumper that gave him the milestone, and he later added a three to help extend the SVC lead.

Borders finished with 11 points in the half as Southern Vermont took a 27-22 lead into the locker room at intermission. Despite shooting 36 percent and committing 11 turnovers in the stanza, the Mariners hung close thanks to nine points from Brunson.

Mitchell opened the second half with a 13-1 run to take control of the game. After Finke tied things up with a three-pointer, the next trip down the floor it was Williams who grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds before giving the Mariners the lead for good with a put back. Brunson, who supplied six points during the spurt, capped the run with a pair of free throws to give the home side a 35-28 lead with 15:39 remaining.

The Mountaineers never got closer than four the rest of the way, and the Mariners eventually built the lead to as many as 12. Mitchell's bench outscored Southern Vermont's by a 15-4 margin, with the majority of the points coming from Landon Peabody. He shot 3-for-6 from long range and finished with nine points in 18 minutes.