BROOKLINE, Mass. – With five players scoring in double figures, Southern Vermont College defeated Newbury College 81-65 Wednesday night in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball action at Hellenic College's Pappas Gymnasium.
SVC finished the first half on a 16-5 run to bring an eight-point lead to the locker room, and the Mountaineers were able to hold off second-period Newbury pushes to stay in front and cap the win.
With the first half of the NECC schedule officially in the books, Southern Vermont sits atop the league standings with a 6-1 Conference record (14-4 overall). SVC has now won its last seven games against the Nighthawks and eight of the last 10. The Mountaineers are back at home on Saturday for their next contest as the team hosts Dean College for a 1 p.m. NECC tip-off.
Southern Vermont chalked up a well-balanced offensive performance—being led by 17 points from junior Josh Borders (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) who also notched four rebounds and three steals. Junior Andre Hodo (Rockville, Md.) followed with 15 points, and he added a team-best 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season; Hodo provided five assists while senior Daemond Carter (Forestville, Md.) notched a career-best seven of his own to go with his 12 points, three rebounds, and three steals.
SVC senior Mike Pierre (Melrose, N.Y.) scored another 12 points for the visitors, and he also had four boards, two assists, and a pair of steals. Junior Kyle Depollar (Rockville, Md.) came off the bench for his first appearance since January 11—registering 11 points in 15 minutes of action.
The Mountaineers amassed 22 assists on the night for their most helpers since February 20, 2016 (110-57 win vs. Daniel Webster College). SVC connected on 41.7 percent (30-72) of its field goal attempts as Newbury hit 38.8 percent (26-67) of its takes from the floor. NC had a 47-42 advantage in rebounds, but Southern Vermont won the turnover battle by a 19-9 margin to outscore the Nighthawks 20-6 in points off those giveaways.
The two sides traded runs in the first half as neither was able to sustain a sizable lead. A 9-0 Newbury spurt, which spanned nearly five minutes of clock time, put NC on top 23-21 with 6:41 to go in the half, but a Hodo jumper then sparked a 12-3 Mountaineer run; Depollar and Borders knocked down back-to-back triples at the end of that stretch to help the visitors go into the break on top by eight.
After Depollar hit another from downtown to set the score at 55-44 with 12:59 left in the game, Newbury chipped away with a 12-4 run to get within three. The Mountaineers responded with an 11-3 surge, however, highlighted by five Borders points and back-to-back Pierre buckets. Southern Vermont forced five NC turnovers in the final four minutes of action, and the Nighthawks went 1-3 from the floor in that stretch for the Mountaineers to stay in front and take their first game of the year against Newbury.
– #LetsGoSVC –