BENNINGTON, Vt. – Freshman forward Deshawn Hamlet had a break-out night as he led all scorers with 34 points as the Mountaineers easily paced past the visiting Sage Colleges Gators 98-69 in the MAC on Wednesday night. Hamlet scored 22 points in the first half alone and pulled down 12 boards in the game for a double-double.
The Mountaineers (2-0) were going shot-for-shot in the first half and the Gators (0-2) had a two point lead when it was 47-45 at the break. SVC tied it up 53-53 in the second half with 16:35 on the clock. The Mountaineers took the lead a moment later on a layup by sophomore guard Derrick Cenicola (nine points, three assists) and never looked by going on a 33-6 tear that left the Gators down by 27 with 7:58 left in regulation. Southern Vermont led by as much as 34 in the second half.
The Mountaineers out-rebounded (53-27) Sage and shot an astonishing 53% from the field in the game. SVC lead with turnovers 18-14 but led with points off of turnovers with 20-16. The Mountaineers also dominated in the paint as it outscored Sage 56-40, and SVC also led on second chance points with 23-7.
Senior captain
Lance Spratling once again had a stellar performance as he also had a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Junior forward
Ben Naaktgeboren added 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Hamlet shot an amazing 80% from the field on 12-15 shooting and he also went 10-12 from the charity stripe. The young forward did not turn the ball over once and did all this in only 26 minutes of play. Junior guard
Taeshon Johnson rounded out the SVC box with eight points and seven rebounds.
Leading the Gators was senior forward Derick Faragon who finished with 15 points. Sophomore guard Jeff Stopera had a solid day at the point as he tallied seven assists and nabbed four steals. Rounding out the box for Sage Colleges was center Marcus Hunter (14 points) and guard Pat Lanoue (12 points).
The Mountaineers are back in action on Friday, November 19th, when it faces off against Williams College in the Williams Invitational. The game is slated for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off.
