BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Southern Vermont College men's basketball team got back to its New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) schedule on Tuesday, pulling ahead late and holding off the hosts to top Newbury College 86-82 at Hellenic College's Pappas Gymnasium.

The Mountaineers led 43-36 at halftime and went up by 14 midway through the second stanza. NC came back to take the lead late in the game, but SVC was able to regain the advantage and hit enough free throws in the final minutes to grab its first league win of the year.

Southern Vermont (3-9, 1-2 NECC) turns to a Thursday home game against Daniel Webster College— that NECC matchup slated to start at 6 p.m.

Six Mountaineers scored in double figures including all five starters. Senior Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) led the team with 18 points, adding eight rebounds and four assists to his line. Senior Ervin Cook (Germantown, Md.) came off the bench to tally a career-high 17 points in 22 minutes while classmate Nate Goldsmith (Bowie, Md.) had 11 points and a game-best 15 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year.

SVC junior Mike Pierre (Melrose, N.Y.) registered 16 points, four assists and three boards, and classmate Claude Payne (South Plainfield, N.J.) had 12 points and seven rebounds in the win. Sophomore Josh Borders (Miami, Fla.) also scored 12 points while dishing out a game-best six assists.

Southern Vermont went 29-for-71 (40.8 percent) from the floor while the Nighthawks connected on 44.1 percent (30-68) of their field goal attempts. The Mountaineers dropped an 11-10 edge from beyond the perimeter while grabbing a 48-41 advantage in rebounds. SVC owned a 16-13 upper hand in second-chance points and used its transition offense to outscore NC 14-6 in fast-break points.

The opening few minutes were packed with offense as baskets went back-and-forth. Four of Newbury's first five scores came from behind the arc, but a three by Pierre and a couple of Taylor layups helped SVC keep pace and only trail 14-11 at the 16:00 mark. A Cook triple tied the game before two Payne free throws put the Mountaineers in front for the first time. Another trey by Cook made it a 21-17 Southern Vermont advantage, only to see the Nighthawks score six unanswered to go back on top.

The threes continued to fall at both ends of the floor, one off of Borders' hand making it a 31-26 SVC advantage with 5:07 on the clock. Newbury kept pace with offensive conversions, but Taylor and Pierre each knocked down a deep ball to put Southern Vermont up by nine in the final minute of the half. NC would get a layup to go with 18 ticks left, setting the score at 43-36 in favor of the Mountaineers going into the halftime break.

SVC maintained its separation through the opening five minutes of the second period before a Pierre layup put the visitors in front by 11 (52-41). Taylor dropped in a three to bump it to a 14-point lead, and Borders then did the same with 12:30 left to go. Newbury wouldn't go down without a fight, however, and got itself back in the game with a 14-2 run over the next four minutes. The Mountaineers pushed it back to a seven-point upper hand with the help of another Cook triple, but NC dropped in six unanswered points to get within one.

The Nighthawks tied the game four times into the 2:00 mark as buckets were traded down the stretch. Cook drilled one more from downtown to put SVC on top 75-72, only to see the hosts answer with one of their own out of a Southern Vermont timeout. Each team dropped a two-pointer before NC gained the edge with a pair of free throws. Borders made the most of a bonus opportunity and went 2-for-2 from the stripe to tie it once again, and he then took a home run pass from Cook off a defensive board for a go-ahead, fast-break layup.

Taylor was fouled off of a Newbury miss and put home a pair of freebies with 24 seconds on the clock, but the Nighthawks kept their hopes alive with a three on their next possession. Goldsmith would be sent to the line as NC continued to play the foul game— a strategy that nearly paid off as the Mountaineer connected on just the front end of his two shots. Down by two, the Nighthawks tried to go ahead with a three-pointer in the final seconds; it would go wayward, however, and a pair of Pierre free throws sealed the win for Southern Vermont.

– #LetsGoSVC –