BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The big-city skyline didn't intimidate the bruising front line of the men from Southern Vermont College.The SVC men's basketball team made the most of its Saturday trip to Brooklyn, N.Y., by defeating host St. Joseph's College by the final score of 82-61.

The Mountaineers (3-4) used their size advantage down low to out-rebound the Bears (2-5) by a 54-39 margin and rack up a trio of double-doubles en route to their third-straight victory.

"We thought that our size and inside game would be advantages for us, and they were," SVC head coach Mike McDonough said. "St. Joseph's is a smaller, perimeter-oriented team, but they get a lot of rebounds from their guards - and we were able to neutralize that."

SVC received double-doubles from forwards Deandre Kennedy-Ebron (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Joe Karnik (15 and 12) and swingman Lance Spratling (15 and 13). Eleven of the trio's combined boards came on the offensive end, and Spratling and Karnik also
teamed for six blocked shots.

With the Mountaineers' inside game firing on all cylinders, the perimeter attack caught fire behind shooting guard Brendan Kordana's game-high 22 points. The sophomore sniper connected on 6-of-10 shots from three-point range, including a pair of clutch triples during
SVC's decisive 14-0 run to open the second half.

"I would hazard to say that this is the breakout game we've been expecting from Brendan," McDonough said. "He's been moving closer to a performance like this, and we're hoping he keeps it going from here."

After carrying a slim 34-30 lead into the half, SVC exploded out of the gate in the third quarter to take command. Kordana keyed the one-sided run with a three-pointer in the frame's opening minute, then followed up a jumper by Kennedy-Ebron and a three by Avery
Mitchell with another long bomb that made it 47-30, SVC. Karnik then capped the run with a free throw.

"That was as good as we've looked, as a team, all season," McDonough said of the fateful 3:04 stretch. "We managed to reach the pace in the halfcourt game that we've been looking for. We made the extra passes when we needed to, and really clicked as a team." The Bears battled back to within eight points, 54-46, on a three by Mike Dziewit with 11:41 left in the game. But the Mountaineers regrouped by scoring nine of the game's next 11 points, including five from Kennedy-Ebron, who had been saddled with foul trouble in
the first half.

"By capitalizing on Deandre's fresh legs, we were able to get the ball inside and regain control," McDonough said. Kordana gave the Mountaineers their first 20-point lead, at 75-56, on a three-pointer with 4:16 remaining. A jumper by Cameron Herrington (six points, four rebounds) gave SVC its biggest lead, 82-58, with 1:14 left. St. Joseph's was led by Ervin Maddox's 16 points, but shot only .324 from the field as a team and allowed SVC to attempt a whopping 36 free throws (to the Bears' 17). Spratling dished out seven assists for the Mountaineers, who head into the holiday break having turned a listless start to the season into a modest winning streak.

"After the 0-4 start, we committed ourselves to ending [the first semester] with a 3-0 run," said McDonough, whose team did just that by beating RPI and Union prior to Saturday's win. The Mountaineers will return to action on Jan. 10, at home against Wheelock at 2 p.m.