BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College men's basketball team played its first home game of the 2016-17 season Tuesday night, using its fast-paced style of defense and transition to run out to a 95-84 non-conference win over Johnson State College at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.

SVC went into halftime ahead 47-43 and pulled away for a 21-point lead with four minutes left to go in the game. Southern Vermont connected on a season-high 36 field goals while shooting 50 percent from the floor, and the hosts grabbed 17 steals to the Badgers' eight.

The Mountaineers (2-2) are back at home for their next game, welcoming Castleton University to the SVC campus on Sunday (3:30 p.m.) for another inner-state showdown and the team's final contest before starting New England Collegiate Conference action. Johnson State (2-2) prepares for a road trip to Middlebury College next Wednesday, November 30-- that start time slated for 7 p.m.

Southern Vermont senior Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) tied his career-high with a game-best 25 points, shooting eight-for-15 from the field; he also had eight rebounds and three steals for the Mountaineers. Classmate Davante Jordan (Great Mills, Md.) came just one point shy of his career-best with 20 points while notching seven boards, five steals and three assists.

Fellow senior Nate Goldsmith (Capitol Heights, Md.) chalked up his third career double-double with 18 points and a game-best 14 rebounds, adding four assists and a steal to his line. Junior Daemond Carter (Forestville, Md.) registered nine points and a game-high six steals, and sophomore Josh Borders (Miami, Fla.) had seven points, five boards and a pair of assists. SVC sophomore Malik Green (Miami, Fla.) had a season-best seven points in just eight minutes off the bench.

Johnson St. junior Kawaun Chavis (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the Badgers with 20 points while classmate Marqwon Wynn (Wilmington, Del.) followed with 18 points, three steals and two assists. Senior captain Benjamin Holl (Philadelphia, Pa.) added 14 points, three boards and two steals as junior captain Demetrius Slade (Washington, D.C.) grabbed a team-best 13 rebounds to go with his eight points, four assists and three blocks.

The Mountaineers hit on 36 of their 72 field goal attempts (50 percent) while JSC finished with a 39.1 shooting percentage from the floor (25-64). Southern Vermont pulled down a 44-39 advantage on the glass and tallied 27 points off turnovers to the Badgers' 10. SVC's post presence was strong all night, outscoring Johnson State by a 58-32 margin in the paint while the visitors knocked down nine three-pointers to Southern Vermont's five.

A Taylor jumper put SVC up by four early on, but a pair of JSC treys would tie it at 15-15 soon-after. The Mountaineers tried to increase their separation midway through the period as a Jordan triple made it a 22-17 lead for the hosts, only to see an old-fashioned three-point play by Johnson State sophomore captain Donell Shaw (Washington, D.C.) start an 8-0 run that put the Badgers in front 25-22.

Southern Vermont had the response, however, dropping 13 unanswered points for a 10-point lead; Carter, Jordan and Taylor each dropped one from downtown in that stretch before Jordan capped it with a steal-and-score at the 6:42 mark. The cushion wouldn't be sustained for long as JSC came back to tie it over the next four minutes. Slade got a layup to go while being fouled to start the comeback, and he would then add four-straight points before Wynn tallied four unanswered of his own to make it a 38-38 ballgame.

Shaw then knocked down a three to put his team on top by one, but Goldsmith played a strong final two minutes to help send SVC into halftime on top; he notched four-straight in the late going before Jordan grabbed a defensive board and ran the floor as time waned, getting a layup to fall with just four seconds left for a 47-43 Mountaineer upper hand at the break.

Johnson State was able to overcome that deficit fairly quickly once the action got back underway, Chavis and junior captain Rasul Jackson (Philadelphia, Pa.) both hitting a trey in the opening minute of the second half before a Chavis layup put the Badgers up 51-49. SVC inched back and regained the lead with a Borders three off a Goldsmith dish, but Holl answered on the ensuing possession to tie it up once more at 54-54.

That would be the final tie of the night as the next Southern Vermont run put the Mountaineers in front for good. SVC went on a 9-2 spurt that included an and-one play by Goldsmith, and a jumper by senior Brandon Casella (Pittsfield, Mass.) then ignited a quick 6-0 run that put the Mountaineers up 69-58 with 12:36 to go. Southern Vermont sophomore Andrew Wimbush (Capitol Heights, Md.) came off the bench to put home four straight before five-consecutive Johnson State free throws brought the separation back to single digits (78-69).

That would be short-lived, however, as the Mountaineers took to a 14-2 surge that included 10 points from Taylor-- four of those coming at the charity stripe. Johnson State was able to get it back to a 10-point deficit in the final stages while Southern Vermont emptied its bench, but it would be too little, too late as time ran out on the Badger comeback.

– #LetsGoSVC –