TROY, N.Y. – Five players reached double figures in points to lead the College of St. Joseph to an 80-77 victory over Southern Vermont College in the consolation game of the Tri-State Shootout at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's (RPI) East Campus Arena. The Fighting Saints improve to 3-6, while the Mountaineers fall to 0-5.

St. Joseph saw a 19-point halftime lead turn into a 1-point deficit, 75-74 with 1:39 to go, but six free throws and timely rebounding down the stretch made the difference. Freshman Casey Hall (Albany, N.Y.), who finished with team-highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds, put the Saints ahead, 76-75 with 1:25 remaining. Following a Dre Anderson (Forth Worth, Texas) defensive rebound, freshman Roland Celestine (New Orleans, La.) followed with two more from the stripe for a 78-75 with 35 seconds to go.

Southern Vermont pulled to within one point, 78-77 on two free throws of its own, but Celestine finished the scoring by going 2-for-2 with 15 seconds remaining. The Mountaineers attempted to tie the game with a desperation three-pointer, but the attempt was missed.

Anderson finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Ramel Anderson (Roosevelt, N.Y.), who was named to the All-Tournament Team, had 16 points. Celestine finished with 14 and Josh Otway (Dallas, Texas) had 13.

SVC was led by senior Taeshon Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.), who had 31 points on 14 of 20 shooting with 11 rebounds in 39 minutes. He was named to the All-Tournament Team. Jermaine Campbell (Bridgeport, Conn.), a sophomore, also had a double-double, scoring 21 points with 11 rebounds.

The Mountaineers begin New England Collegiate Conference play on Tuesday when they host Elms College for a 6 p.m. tip, while St. Joe's welcomes Clarkson University Friday for a 7 p.m. game.