BENNINGTON, Vt. — Clutch free throws down the stretch helped Southern Vermont College stay ahead and take a 72-68 win over Castleton State College in non-conference men's basketball action at the Mountaineer Athletic Center Sunday afternoon.
The victory gives SVC a 3-2 record on the young season while Castleton falls to 2-2 on the year.
This was only the second all-time meeting between the two programs with SVC now having a 2-0 record over the Spartans; Southern Vermont defeated CSC 80-72 during the 2010-11 season.
Mountaineer sophomore Nate Goldsmith (Seat Pleasant, Maryland) led his team with 16 points off the bench, adding five rebounds and four assists in the process. Junior Casey Hall(Albany, New York) added 15 points, seven boards and a pair of steals while juniors Antoine White (Bethesda, Maryland) and William Bromirski (Cambridge, New York) followed with 11 points apiece; White added eight rebounds and a game-high five assists to his line.
Castleton saw a tremendous 26-point performance from junior Chad Copeland (Plainfield, Vermont) who added five rebounds in the effort. Classmate Rob Coloutti (Fair Haven, Vermont) and senior Carnelius Green (Oviedo, Florida) each tallied 11 points with two and three rebounds, respectively.
The Spartans went on top early, jumping out 14-4 after a pair of threes from Coloutti. With the score set at 18-10 in favor of the visitors, Southern Vermont scored the next nine straight points, capped by a Hall jumper, to take its first lead of the day. Six lead changes characterized the next two minutes with the teams battling back-and-forth, sinking shots and refusing to give away the ball.
SVC went on a brief 7-0 run to go ahead 30-25, but a trey by CSC junior Casey McGraw (Delmar, New York) with 5:46 to play cut the Spartan deficit to two; he then blocked a shot on the other end and went down to make a game-tying jumper (32-32). Copeland knocked down a basket to put his team up four with just under two minutes to go, but that's when White started to get his offense going; he sandwiched a three-ball between two layups including one with seven seconds to go, sending his team into the locker room with a slight 39-38 lead.
Goldsmith had 12 of his points in the opening period, trying Copeland for the half-best. The Mountaineers went 15-31 (48.4 percent) from the floor in the first while the Spartans held the edge in field goal shooting with a 16-30 (53.3 percent) clip.
Neither side could pull away in the second as the two teams continued to play tough, high-intensity basketball. The lead was changed six times through the opening nine minutes of the half, the last coming at the 11:21 mark on a Bromirski three-pointer. After a Green jumper made it a 53-52 SVC advantage, Mountaineer sophomore Brandon Casella (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) drilled a three off the bench to put his team up four. Green responded with a three-ball of his own following a turnover by each team, but a pair of layups extended the SVC lead to 60-55 with 8:08 left on the clock.
Castleton trailed through the next two minutes until getting back the lead on a McGraw layup. The Spartans stayed within striking distance, making it 65-64 after a Copeland bucket with 1:23 to play. Bromirski nearly made it a two-possession game, cutting across the lane to his right and going at the hoop; he got the layup to go while drawing the foul, but he couldn't convert on the free throw to keep it at 67-64. Castleton ran the floor quickly, trying to get fast baskets and immediate fouls. After Copeland made a jumper, Hall was fouled and sent to the line for a one-and-one opportunity. He would miss the front-end, but the ball went off a Spartan and out of bounds for SVC to retain possession.
After a Southern Vermont timeout, Hall was once again fouled and sent to the line. This time, however, he knocked down both free throws to put the Mountaineers ahead by a 69-66 tally. With Castleton again going for the quick, high-percentage shot, Copeland was fouled hard from behind and got a chance for a pair of freebies. He would also convert both to once again make it a one-point contest. At that point, the Spartan press made it difficult for SVC to inbound the ball, and the Mountaineers were forced to use their final timeout.
Coming out of the stoppage, Southern Vermont successfully got the ball in to Hall who was once again fouled and sent to the line, this time with 9.3 seconds to go. He was true to previous form and sank both free throws for the 71-68 SVC advantage. On the ensuing inbounds play, Castleton had some miscommunication, and the pass went errantly right at the SVC bench to give the ball back to the hosts. Southern Vermont sophomore Davante Jordan (Great Mills, Maryland) was fouled right away and sent to the line in a last-ditch hope for the Spartans, but he made one-of-two to seal the SVC victory.
Southern Vermont finished the game with 45 percent shooting (27-60) while Castleton shot at a 48.1 percentage (26-54). The Mountaineers were dominant on the boards, holding a 37-26 advantage on rebounds while turning their offensive caroms into 20 second-chance points; CSC only notched six on second opportunities.
Southern Vermont looks ahead to its New England Collegiate Conference opener on Thursday, an 8 p.m. start at Regis College. Castleton opens up the North Atlantic Conference schedule on Wednesday when the Spartans host Lyndon State College for a 7:30 p.m. tip.