BENNINGTON, Vt. — Southern Vermont College junior DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Connecticut) became the 10th men's basketball player in program history to reach the 1,000 career-point milestone, scoring a team-best 28 points to help SVC defeat Mitchell College 94-76 Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
That would not be the only record set on the day, however. Mountaineer junior Casey Hall(Albany, New York) swatted 10 Mitchell shots to give him 58 blocks on the season, surpassing the previous SVC single season mark of 53. On the Mariner side of things, seniorJoshua Ford (Jersey City, New Jersey) pulled down four rebounds, giving him 1,001 in his career at Mitchell; he is the first player in program history to hit the 1,000 board mark.
Southern Vermont stays perfect in NECC action, moving to 12-0 against the league and 18-3 overall. The win also secures a first-round bye in the conference postseason tournament. Mitchell falls to 8-11 on the year, 5-6 in conference play.
Hamlet added a game-best 10 rebounds on the day for his sixth double-double of the year, going 10-14 from the floor. Hall scored 14 points, missing out on the triple-double with seven rebounds, while sophomore Nate Goldsmith (Seat Pleasant, Maryland) came off the bench to provide 10 points and four assists in reserve time. Junior captain Antoine White (Bethesda, Maryland) notched eight points and a game-high five assists to go with six rebounds in the win.
Mariner senior Parris Hill (Stockton, California) led all players with 29 points, adding a team-best eight rebounds in the effort. Junior Donavan McClean (Jersey City, New Jersey) followed with 16 points and seven boards, and junior Frank Martin (Port St. Lucie, Florida) chipped in with nine points and a pair of helpers.
The Mountaineers shot 50.7 percent from the floor (35-69) on the day, holding the Mariners to a 35.5 field goal percentage (27-76). SVC outscored Mitchell 54-28 in the paint while the Mountaineers edged MC 21-13 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 freshman Alan Morgan (Port St. Lucie, Florida).
As the teams traded baskets, SVC junior William Bromirski (Cambridge, New York) drilled a three from the right side of the arc to make it a 24-23 Mitchell lead, only 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 8-8 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 26.8 percent from the floor in the stanza. Southern Vermont outscored MC 47-33 in the final 20 minutes, opening up a lead that could not be overcome 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 MC 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 took to an 11-1 run to open things back up; Hamlet scored seven points in that stretch, inching him closer to his milestone.
Mitchell would 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 MC 19-5 to put the game out of reach for the Mariners. SVC was 9-10 from the line during that time, taking a comfortable lead that the Mountaineers would carry to the 94-76 final for their 11th straight victory.
Next up for the Mountaineers is a Wednesday road game as they visit Becker College for a 7 p.m. NECC tip. Mitchell also plays next on Wednesday, traveling to Newbury College for a 6 p.m. start, a league contest rescheduled from January 27.