BENNINGTON, Vt. — Regis College cut its deficit to just a pair with 4:31 to go in regulation Thursday night, but Southern Vermont College was able to fend off the Pride and pull away for a 76-62 victory at the Mountaineer Athletic Center in the first New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball game of the year for both teams.
Southern Vermont improves to 3-2 on the season with its second straight win, starting the league schedule 1-0 while Regis falls to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in NECC action. The SVC victory, which saw the Mountaineers never trail, cuts the all-time series to a 6-5 RC edge.
Southern Vermont led 47-37 with just under 13 minutes to go in the second half, but Regis chipped away to make it 59-57 at the 4:31 mark. The Pride's shooting would go cold, however, as SVC took advantage and stormed to a 10-0 run to open things up late in the contest and walk out with the league win.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday with NECC contests, Southern Vermont visiting Lesley University for a 5 p.m. tip-off while Regis hosts Daniel Webster College for a 3 p.m. start.
Four SVC starters made their way into double digits in the points column, senior William Bromirski (Cambridge, N.Y.) tying the game-high of 14 with help from a 6-9 performance from the free throw line. Senior DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Conn.) followed with 13 points and six rebounds while classmate Casey Hall (Albany, N.Y.) had 11 points, a team-best seven boards, five blocks and four assists. Freshman Josh Borders (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) tallied a season-high 11 points, and junior Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) came off the bench to score nine points and pull down five rebounds.
Regis freshman Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) tied Bromirski's 14 points in 25 minutes off the bench while senior captain Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) notched 10 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals. Junior Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) added nine points and four boards, and senior captain Jeff Tagger Jr. (Brockton, Mass.) chipped in with eight points and six rebounds. Junior Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) pulled down a game-high eight rebounds while notching nine points in reserve time for the Pride.
SVC went 20-49 from the field for a 40.8 percentage while RC was close-behind at 38.3 percent on a 23-60 clip from the floor. Southern Vermont went 28-36 (77.8 percent) from the free throw line and only turned the ball over eight times to Regis' 16; those giveaways resulted in the Mountaineers outscoring RC 15-2 in points off turnovers. The Pride held a 44-31 advantage in rebounds and topped SVC 26-18 on points in the paint.
Borders knocked down a three off the opening tip, but Regis came back to tie it up with an ensuing layup and a 1-2 trip to the charity stripe by Monts. Southern Vermont then seized the momentum, Bromirski hitting two free throws after being fouled beyond the perimeter before Hamlet drilled a three-pointer at the top of the arc to start a 13-2 SVC run. Bromirski added another five points, and junior Davante Jordan (Great Mills, Md.) then hit Southern Vermont's fourth trey of the game for the 16-5 upper hand.
Regis refused to let the Mountaineers get away, closing it down to a six-point game with a quick 7-2 spurt through the midpoint of the half. Afonja finished off an and-one play in that stretch before slamming home a put-back dunk to make it 22-16 in favor of Southern Vermont at the 9:07 mark. A Jean-Gilles three cut the deficit to four, but Borders would soon-after drill his second long-ball of the night to answer and make it 30-23. Both sides were efficient from the line down the stretch once getting into the bonus, five of seven unanswered Regis points coming by way of the stripe to get within two (32-30). The Mountaineers were able to hit three free throws in the final 21 seconds of the period, going into the locker room ahead 35-30.
The teams traded scores in the opening five minutes of the second half before a Monts three made it a 40-37 SVC edge. Mountaineer junior Nate Goldsmith (Capitol Heights, Md.) powered in and got a layup to go while being fouled, hitting his free throw to start a 7-0 Southern Vermont run that put the hosts up by 10. Regis responded with six straight points, but SVC was able to then answer each of the Pride's baskets on ensuing possessions to stay ahead by a handful. Bromirski sent home a deep three from the right wing at the 6:59 mark to put the Mountaineers on top 57-49, but Regis came back with six straight points, started by a Heredia three, to get within a pair at 59-57.
RC wouldn't get any closer as SVC took to a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to go comfortably back in front. Hamlet knocked down a jumper to start that stretch before Hall squared up behind the right side of the arc and drained a three-pointer. Hamlet added another pair of layups, and Hall hit one-of-two free throws to give his team a 69-57 lead with 1:42 left to play. Afonja made a layup on the next Regis possession, only to see Southern Vermont hit five free throws in the next 22 seconds to pull away with the sizable Conference win.
Release Courtesy of Southern Vermont College Sports Information