BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Mountaineers men's basketball team drained 10 triples and edged the Spartans of Castleton State College 80-72 on Tuesday night in the Mountaineer Athletic Center. Southern Vermont moved the ball well offensively and was led by junior guard Taeshon Johnson who notched a game-high 25 points.

SVC improves to 8-5, while CSC falls to 4-6 with the loss.

The Mountaineers found themselves down 11-4 in the first few minutes of play but rallied to regain the lead with a 16-0 run. The Spartans, led by senior guard Mike Knight, managed to chip away at Southern Vermont's lead and the two teams went to the break with a 34-34 tie. CSC scored 13 points off of Mountaineer turnovers in the first half.

SVC found themselves down by seven with 13:57 to go in regulation but a three's by junior guard Avery Mitchell and Johnson kept the Mountaineers in the game. A triple by sophomore guard Derrick Cenicola gave Southern Vermont a 60-59 advantage and SVC did not lose the lead for the remaining 8:50.

Knight led Castleton State with 17 points. Sophomore guard Mark Comstock added 13 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.

The Mountaineers finished the game shooting 48.1% from the field (CSC 41.7%), and 45.5% from three-land (CSC 33.3%) SVC also out-rebounded the Spartans 46-32. Castleton foul trouble (23) helped Southern Vermont as it notched 20-of-27 from the charity stripe.

The Mountaineers are back in action when it hosts NECC foe the Mariners of Mitchell College on Thursday, January 13th, with the tip-off slated for 6:00 p.m.