Nashua – In a back-and-forth affair that saw 10 ties and 16 lead changes, it took Daniel Webster's sophomore Daris Cosby's (Albany, N.Y.) clutch layup with 19 seconds left and a three-point attempt at the buzzer that just fell short by Southern Vermont's Taeshon Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.) to give the host Eagles a thrilling 85-82 victory over the Mountaineers in a New England Collegiate men's basketball matchup Saturday at the Mario Vagge Gymnasium.
DWC, which earned a small measure of revenge after dropping all three contests to the Mountaineers last season, moved to 3-7 overall with the win (2-1 NECC), while SVC dropped to 1-10 (1-2 NECC).
The teams traded leads six times and forged six ties in the second half alone and were knotted at 81 with 1:14 left before Jordan Santiago (Westfield, Mass.) put the Mountaineers up with one at the line with 43 seconds to go. But Cosby followed inside for the lead, and senior Eric Suarez stole the ball and sank one at the line for a two-point game.
Suarez missed the back end but sophomore Dave Schindewolf (Robbinsville, N.J.) came down with his biggest rebound of the season and would sink one with 10 seconds left, giving the Eagles the breathing room they needed to escape Johnson's final look as time expired.
Cosby led four Eagles in double figures with 23 points going 7 of 7 at the line and added three steals. Junior John Hickson (Springfield, Mass.) added 21 points including four from outside, Suarez finished with 16 points and a team best eight boards, while rookie Khial Watson (Chesterfield, Mich.) notched a season-best 13 points and four assists.
Taeshon Johnson finished up with 22 points and 15 defensive rebounds to lead four players in double figures for the Mountaineers. Travis Severs (Bennington, Vt.) added 22 with six three-pointers while Santiago added 18 points and three steals. Avery Mitchell (Schenectady, N.Y.) chipped in with 14 points.
DWC's largest lead of the game was eight (44-36) late in the first half before SVC cut it to four at the break (44-40). DWC held the lead until Johnson put the visitors ahead 55-54 at the free throw line and build the advantage to as many as five (59-54) on a Santiago jumper with 12:39 to go. Down 61-56, the Eagles pulled even on a Cosby three and Suarez layup with 10:04 left. SVC led 77-72 after a Severs layup with 3:56 remaining but a Cosby jumper and Hickson trey helped knots things at 79 with 2:22 left.
Mitchell answered from 20 feet for an 81-79 game with 1:56 to go and Watson tied it at the line at the 1:14 mark. Santiago buried one of two for the 82-81 lead with 43 seconds left, setting up Cosby's jumper for the Eagles' lead to stay.
The Eagles head out on the road for their next three beginning with a visit to Regis for a NECC clash on Tuesday beginning at 7:00 p.m. SVC visits NECC foe Mitchell Thursday for a 1:00 p.m. tilt.