BENNINGTON, Vt. – After only leading by one at halftime, the Southern Vermont College men's basketball team used a strong performance in the final 20 minutes to pull away for an 86-69 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) win over Elms College at the Mountaineer Athletic Center Thursday night.
SVC was up by seven partway through the opening stanza, but the Blazers were able to cut their deficit to one to head into the locker room down 42-41. The Mountaineers started to pull away once the action resumed, and they would then go on a 16-5 run midway through the period to open it up and walk out with the sizable victory.
The win is the fourth straight for SVC, improving the team's league record to 4-2 (6-9 overall). Elms falls to 2-13 on the year and 2-6 in Conference action with the loss. While the Blazers still own a 12-7 all-time series lead over Southern Vermont, the Mountaineers have now won six of their last seven meetings with EC.
Southern Vermont is back at it on Saturday with a 3 p.m. home game against NECC rival Regis College; the Mountaineers and the Pride will celebrate the American Cancer Society's Suits & Sneakers Week that day with all admissions proceeds going to support the ACS. Elms is next in action on Tuesday, hosting Daniel Webster College for a 7 p.m. league tip-off.
Four Mountaineers made their way into double digits for points, being led by sophomore Mike Pierre (Melrose, N.Y.) who tied his season-high of 18; he also had six rebounds and two steals in the win. SVC sophomore Josh Borders (Miami, Fla.) followed with 16 points and a pair of assists while senior Nate Goldsmith (Capitol Heights, Md.) tallied his fifth double-double of the year with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds; Goldsmith also dished out a career-best six assists on the night.
Southern Vermont senior Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) recorded 14 points, five boards, and five assists, and junior Claude Payne (South Plainfield, N.J.) had nine points and three rebounds in just 14 minutes as he faced foul trouble all night.
Elms senior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) dropped in a game-high 20 points while adding five rebounds and three assists to his line, and classmate Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Md.) had 14 points and a team-leading eight boards. Freshman DeAngelo Cousar (Bowie, Md.) notched 13 points in the effort as classmate Spencer Douglas (Hollywood, Fla.) chipped in with nine points and four rebounds in just 12 minutes off the bench.
SVC went 30-for-62 (48.4 percent) from the floor while EC connected finished with a 37.5 percent (27-72) clip. The Mountaineers were stellar from the free throw line, shooting 90 percent (18-20) for the first time since December 4, 2012 (9-10). Elms pulled down a 43-38 edge on the glass, but the hosts moved the ball better to rack up a 17-5 advantage in assists. Southern Vermont outscored the Blazers 36-26 from the paint and 18-12 in points off turnovers.
SVC went up 5-2 shortly after the jump when Borders knocked down a catch-and-shoot triple to start an 8-2 Southern Vermont spurt. Payne completed an old-fashioned three-point play during that stretch after taking a nice dish from Goldsmith and finishing the basket while drawing the foul. Elms kept pace as Smith put home a good-looking shot from the top-right edge of the lane, but Pierre pushed it to a five-point Mountaineer advantage when he connected from the left edge of the arc off a quick release.
Smith ran baseline and put it off the glass to make it a 15-10 ballgame, and Douglas drained a three from the right corner as the teams went back-and-forth. After Pierre completed another and-one play to put it back to a five-point separation, EC notched seven unanswered to take its first lead of the night; Ihearahu made a spin move in the lane to start that run, and Smith then made a similar play before putting it off the backboard to put the visitors in front 28-26.
Elms would not be on top for long as SVC stormed back with eight-straight points, all of those coming from the free throw line during a span of 1:23. Goldsmith hit one from downtown for a 37-32 edge late in the half, and the Blazer defense then converged on him in the middle of the paint before the Mountaineer senior dropped the ball off to sophomore Kyle Depollar (Rockville, Md.) who was cutting through the backdoor. Smith helped keep EC close, swishing home a three from five feet behind the perimeter to make it a 40-39 Southern Vermont lead. Each team then added two points for SVC to go into the break ahead 42-41.
On the opening possession of the second half, Borders sent in a quick catch-and-shoot trey from the top of the arc before back-to-back Pierre baskets started an 8-0 SVC run. Cousar ended that stretch as he put it off the glass from the left side of the court, and neither team would notch consecutive scores over the next four minutes. Mountaineer senior Ervin Cook (Germantown, Md.) nailed a three-pointer from the left corner for a 59-48 Southern Vermont lead, but Ihearahu answered on the next trip down the floor with a fade-away jumper.
A Taylor and-one play provided the first three of seven unanswered points for the Mountaineers— the last two of those coming when Goldsmith snagged a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for the fast-break layup. SVC senior Brandon Casella (Pittsfield, Mass.) came off the bench to drop a pair of threes as the hosts started to pull away, his second getting nothing but net from the left edge. Southern Vermont would lead by no fewer than 17 the rest of the night, Borders completing the rare four-point play with 2:09 left on the clock to seal the deal.
– #LetsGoSVC –