NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The winter break couldn't stop the Southern Vermont College men's basketball team from extending its winning streak Wednesday night as the visiting Mountaineers topped Mass. College of Liberal Arts 82-60 in non-conference play at Amsler Campus Center Gym.
SVC garnered some breathing room at the end of the first half to go into the locker room on top 38-25, and the Mountaineers nearly doubled their lead through the second frame to claim their fifth-straight win of the season and their fifth-straight win over MCLA.
Southern Vermont moves to 8-2 on the year and now sets its sights on the bulk of the New England Collegiate Conference schedule. The Mountaineers head to Dean College on Saturday for their next game—tip-off of that league contest being slated for 1 p.m.
Four SVC players made their way to double figures in the points column with sophomore Kajuan Kinsey (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) leading the way; he had a game and career-high 24 points on an 8-12 performance from the field, and he added six rebounds and two steals to his line. Sophomore Donnell Frayer Jr. (Upper Marlboro, Md.) followed with 13 points, three steals, two assists, and two boards.
Mountaineer senior Kyle Depollar (Rockville, Md.) went 3-6 from the outside to tally 13 points, and he also had four rebounds and three assists on the night. Sophomore transfer Kiran Durant (Hampton, Va.) pitched in with 10 points in 20 minutes off the bench during his first game in the SVC uniform.
Southern Vermont shot 51.8 percent (29-56) from field goal range while holding the Trailblazers to a 32.3 percent (20-62) clip on the floor. MCLA grabbed a 38-36 edge on the boards to edge SVC 10-8 in second-chance points, but the Mountaineers still managed to outscore the hosts 30-20 from the paint.
SVC never trailed after Depollar drilled a triple for the first basket of the night. Once the Mountaineers found themselves up 9-0, however, scoring slowed down as a pair of Frayer Jr. free throws made it just 17-5 at the midpoint of the half. MCLA got the next six points before Durant's first shot as a Mountaineer splashed from the outside to help kick start the Southern Vermont offense.
Depollar knocked down a triple shortly after, and the visitors followed with nine-straight points to push their lead back to double digits. Junior Damon Daniel (Gaithersburg, Md.) had five points with the aid of an and-1 play during that stretch while Kinsey added the other four to help the Mountaineers go into halftime ahead 38-25.
Kinsey scored eight-straight SVC points in the front-end of the second half as his squad ran away with it. Durant connected on another from downtown, and Frayer Jr. did the same on the ensuing Southern Vermont possession for the Mountaineers to register their largest lead of the night at 64-36 with 10:57 left to go.
SVC stayed efficient from the floor the rest of the way to prevent the Trailblazers from getting back into it. Daniel finished with nine points, three assists, and two steals for the Mountaineers.
– #LetsGoSVC –