CHICOPEE, Mass. — The Southern Vermont College men's basketball team outlasted Elms College for a 79-75 victory Thursday evening in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action at Picknelly Arena.
SVC continues to stay perfect in the league, moving to 15-0 in Conference play (21-3 overall). The loss drops the Blazers to 10-13 overall and 9-6 against the NECC.
The Mountaineers were led by junior DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Connecticut) who had a game-high 26 points and five rebounds, shooting 8-10 from the floor and a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Nate Goldsmith (Seat Pleasant, Maryland) poured in 16 points off the bench, hitting 4-of-5 three-pointers. Senior forward Dolapo Olugbile (Laurel, Maryland) had seven points, five rebounds and two blocks in the win, and junior guard Antoine White (Bethesda, Maryland) dished out a game-high seven assists with five points on the night.
Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Connecticut) paced the Blazers with a team-best 25 points, shooting 10-23 from the field, while adding six rebounds and two steals. Kenny Lockett (Atlanta, Georgia) netted 22 points with five rebounds while sophomore Conny Ihearahu (Largo, Maryland) grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to go with six points.
The squads finished even in rebounding with 29 boards apiece. The Blazers converted 25 points off SVC turnovers while the Mountaineer bench outscored that of Elms 33-12 during the contest. Southern Vermont shot 54.3 percent (25-46) from the field, 52.6 percent (10-19) from three-point range, and 79.2 percent (19-24) from the charity stripe. The Blazers connected on 45.2 percent (28-62) from the floor, including 33.3 percent (6-18) from three-point range, and 61.9 percent (13-21) from the foul line.
The opening minutes of the first half set the tone as a back-and-forth matchup with the teams finding themselves knotted at 12-12 with 13:47 remaining. The Mountaineers grabbed control over the next six minutes with a three-pointer from sophomore guard Brandon Casella (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) handing SVC a 24-18 lead. The Blazers rallied back with a 17-6 run, fueled by eight points from Buchanon, to grab a 35-30 advantage with 4:56 on the clock. Six straight points from Hamlet put Southern Vermont in front 36-35, and the Mountaineers closed the frame on a 14-2 run to take a 44-37 lead into halftime.
The Blazers quickly tied the game at 44-44 at the 18:12 mark after five consecutive points from Lockett started the second. The teams jockeyed for position, going shot-for-shot over the next eight minutes of play to tie the game at 49-49. The Mountaineers grabbed control over the next five minutes behind a 9-4 run to build a 58-53 cushion, but Elms battled back with a pair of free throws from Lockett to knot the match a final time at 58-58 with 5:43 to play. Hamlet single-handedly kept the Blazers at bay, scoring 15 consecutive points for Southern Vermont in a span of four minutes to maintain a 73-69 lead for the Mountaineers. A three-pointer from Lockett with 28 seconds on the clock pulled Elms to within a possession at 74-72, but Southern Vermont knocked down five-of-six free throws down the stretch to secure the 79-75 win.
Both teams wrap up the regular season on Saturday with Southern Vermont visiting Daniel Webster College for a 4 p.m. tip and Elms welcoming Lesley University to Picknelly Arena for a 3 p.m. Conference contest.