NASHUA, N.H. — After a strong close to the first half, Southern Vermont College pulled away in the second to win 90-71 Thursday night in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball action at Daniel Webster College.

SVC scored nine straight points late in the opening period to go into halftime up 38-31, and the Mountaineers then proceeded to outscore DWC by 12 in the final 20 minutes to remain perfect in league action.

Now having won their fifth straight game against the Eagles, SVC improves to 11-3 on the season and 5-0 against the league. The Mountaineers are back at it on Saturday when they hostWheelock College for a 3 p.m. NECC tip-off.

Southern Vermont senior DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Conn.) tallied a game-high 19 points while leading all players with a career-best 20 rebounds for his third straight double-double and fourth of the season. He is the first Mountaineer to grab 20 boards in regulation since Joe Karniknotched 24 in a win against Sage on November 17, 2009; Ben Naaktgeboren hit the plateau since then, nabbing 28 caroms in SVC's seven-overtime game against Skidmore on November 23, 2010. 

Hamlet was followed by classmate Casey Hall (Albany, N.Y.) who had 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals while junior Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) added another 15 points and three steals in 17 minutes of reserve time. Junior Davante Jordan(Great Mills, Md.) notched 10 points in 11 minutes off the bench, and senior Jeff James (Bowie, Md.) had seven points, seven boards and a game-high eight assists in the win.

The Mountaineers went 32-65 (49.2 percent) from the floor as Daniel Webster was 29-64 (45.3 percent). The Eagles took a 40-37 edge on the glass, but SVC won the turnover battle by a 22-11 margin. Southern Vermont used the DWC giveaways for a 23-12 advantage in points off turnovers and saw its bench outscore that of the hosts 41-20. The Mountaineers held just a 44-42 upper hand in points in the paint and a 14-13 edge in second-chance points.

Hamlet and Hall teamed up to score the first 12 SVC points of the night, the senior duo notching back-to-back baskets for the Mountaineers to take a 12-5 lead early on. Daniel Webster answered with a 9-2 run, capped by a three-pointer, to tie things up, but Southern Vermont wouldn't let the Eagles lead as the visitors scored seven of the next nine to go up 21-16. DWCcut it back to a three-point deficit midway through the first half before a Taylor layup was followed by almost three minutes of scoreless action.

Once the scoring continued, the two sides traded baskets as Daniel Webster stayed close. A three-ball by SVC freshman Josh Borders (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), however, sparked a 9-0 Mountaineer run that would give Southern Vermont a cushion late in the period; Jordan scored a pair of buckets in that stretch to help open up SVC's lead to 38-27. DWC closed out the frame with four unanswered points, setting the halftime score at 38-31 in favor of the Mountaineers.

Neither side scored consecutive baskets in the opening 4:45 of the second half, Southern Vermont responding after each Eagle tally to maintain its separation. Finally, a Hamlet layup pushed it to a 50-41 Mountaineer advantage, but Daniel Webster scored the next five to get within four. A layup by junior Nate Goldsmith (Capitol Heights, Md.) preceded Jordan knocking down a trey to put SVC up 55-46 with 13:01 to play, and SVC would then increase its lead with a 6-1 run that saw all the scoring come from the free throw line.

Five unanswered Daniel Webster points would cut it to 61-54, but again the Mountaineers responded as Hamlet completed an and-one play before sophomore Daemond Carter(Forestville, Md.) dropped a three-pointer to send the difference back into double digits. DWCwould hit shots down the stretch to stay in the game, but the Mountaineers' offense continued to click to remain ahead by a dozen. Four SVC players registered baskets during an 8-0 run, including a steal-and-dunk by Taylor, as Southern Vermont went on top 82-64 with 2:52 left on the clock. Hamlet would notch six of the last 10 SVC points late in the game, helping close out the win to keep the Mountaineers undefeated in league action.