BENNINGTON, Vt.- The Southern Vermont College Men's basketball team opened its season Tuesday evening at the Mountaineer Athletic Center (MAC). SVC won the contest against the Lakes Region Centurion 95-61.

Taeshon Johnson (Charlotte, NC) gave SVC an opening night spark as he led the Mountaineers with 24 points and 17 rebounds in the first half. Johnson and SVC went into the half with a 45-23 lead. In the first half the Mountaineers shot 42.5% from the field and held the Centurion to a 23.3% shooting mark.

"Taeshon exhibited what we are hoping for throughout the year. He had a lot of standout moments defensively and offensively," Head Coach Michael McDonough said. "The points are impressive but the 21 rebounds are far more important for our success."

In the second half, it was all Taeshon Johnson again as he finished the night with 34 points and 21 rebounds. Johnson was joined in the score book with four teammates who scored more than 10 points. Bennington native, Travis Severs scored all of his 15 points in the second half. Freshman, Brandon Johnson (Chatham, NY) had 14 points and Avery Mitchell (Schenectady, NY) had 12.

 "We are very satisfied with the contribution we had throughout the team," continued McDonough.

The Mountaineers out-rebounded Lakes Region 50-31 and had 20 assists compared to the Centurion seven. Freshman point guard Jordan Santiago (Westfield, MA) led the Mountaineer offense with eight assists. He also added eight points and nine rebounds for SVC.

Lakes Region also had four players in double digits, as Drew Forsberg led the attack with 17 points. Matt Diltz had 16, Phil Cowels scored 13, and Chris Mahoney tallied 10 for the Centurion.  

From the charity stripe Southern Vermont shot an impressive 80 percent. However, Lakes Region held a slight advantage at the line with an 82.6 free throw percentage.

Southern Vermont will play Williams College at the Williams Tip-Off tournament Friday night at 8:00PM.