RENSSELAER, N.Y. - The Southern Vermont College men's basketball team used a decisive second-half run to defeat host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Thursday, 75-73. SVC entered the game 2-12 all-time against RPI, and had never won at Robison Gym.

The Mountaineers (2-4) trailed 62-61 with 6:18 remaining in the game, but made their game-changing 10-2 run by converting a steal by Joe Karnik (11 points, seven rebounds) into points the other way and taking three key charges on the defensive end. The biggest of the charges was drawn by freshman forward Ben Naaktgeboren to stop a 3-on-1 opportunity by the Red Hawks.

"Something clicked," SVC head coach Mike McDonough said of the decisive spurt. "We keyed [the run] with our defense, and got some good production off the bench during it."

SVC's Lance Spratling led all scorers with 19 points, and added nine rebounds. Teammate Deandre Kennedy-Ebron posted a double-double with 13 points and 17 rebounds. McDonough praised reserve center Cam Herrington (11 points, six rebounds) for providing "a strong presence" that SVC needed, and for "pulling down a couple of key rebounds, making some put-backs and drawing some charges."

The Mountaineers' next test will come on Saturday, Dec. 13, at St.Joseph's in Brooklyn, N.Y., at 7 p.m.