NASHUA, N.H. — Southern Vermont College concluded the regular season Saturday afternoon, winning 91-78 at Daniel Webster College to finish off a perfect New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball schedule.
The Mountaineers are the first team in the league to finish the regular season with a 16-0 Conference mark since Becker College completed the feat in the 2011-12 campaign; SVC improves to 22-3 overall on the year.
Southern Vermont now has the opportunity to rest up and prepare to host the NECC Semifinals and Championship next weekend, awaiting the winner of Tuesday night's tilt between No. 4 Becker and No. 5 Mitchell College. Daniel Webster will play in Tuesday's first round as the sixth seed, visiting No. 3 Elms College for the right to advance to Bennington for the Semifinals.
Four Mountaineers reached double figures in points with senior captain Dolapo Olugbile (Laurel, Maryland) leading all players with 20, adding seven rebounds and a pair of blocks on the day. Junior guard William Bromirski (Cambridge, New York) followed with 19 points with the help of six three-pointers, dishing out four assists in the win.
Sophomore Nate Goldsmith (Seat Pleasant, Maryland) and freshman Daemond Carter (Forestville, Maryland) each tallied 10 points and three rebounds off the SVC bench while junior DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Connecticut) added nine points and a tie for the game-high of nine rebounds in reserve time; Saturday was just the second time in 24 games this season that Hamlet fell short of reaching double-digits in the points column, the junior recording nine points in both of those contests. JuniorJeff James (Bowie, Maryland) tied Hamlet's nine rebounds while recording a game-best five assists in the win.
DWC was led by 18 points from junior Ryan Gauthier (Nashua, New Hampshire) while sophomore Angelo Adon (Silver Spring, Maryland) followed with 16 off the Eagle bench. Junior Khial Watson (Ann Arbor, Michigan) chipped in with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, and sophomore Michael Campbell (Mount Vernon, New York) provided 11 points and four rebounds. Freshman AJ Middlebrooks (Gray, Georgia) scored nine points and tied the game-high of nine rebounds in the effort.
The Mountaineers shot at a 46.3 percent clip from the floor (31-67) while Daniel Webster finished with a 39.3 field goal percentage (24-61). SVC connected on 11 three-pointers to the Eagles' seven, and Southern Vermont owned a 51-36 advantage on the boards.
Bromirski nailed a three-pointer after SVC won the opening tip, and the Mountaineers would never trail the rest of the way. Another trey from the junior put Southern Vermont ahead 11-7, and sophomore Brandon Casella (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) then knocked down a shot from beyond the arc for an 18-9 lead. Middlebrooks and Gauthier each hit one from downtown to cut the SVC lead to 18-15, but the Mountaineers then went on an 8-0 run, with Carter scoring five points, to take a comfortable edge.
An Adon triple at the 5:55 mark made it 28-22 in favor of the visitors, a lead extended on the following possession when Bromirski drilled his third trey of the half. Adon responded with another bucket from outside the perimeter on the ensuing trip down the floor before the game saw over two minutes of scoreless action. Watson ended the drought with a pair of free throws to make it 31-27, but two three-pointers by Bromirski and another from Goldsmith paved the way for an 11-0 SVC run that bumped its lead to 42-27. The teams traded scores through the final minute as Southern Vermont took a 45-31 lead to the locker room.
SVC's first-half cushion was big enough to keep the guests in front despite being outscored 47-46 in the second half. The Southern Vermont lead was cut to 10 points a few times through the period, but Daniel Webster could never get it to single digits as the Mountaineers shot at a 45.7 percent clip in the stanza to maintain its separation. Olugbile scored 13 of his points in the second to keep his team ahead and take the season sweep of DWC, finishing off the perfect run through the league schedule.