BENNINGTON, Vt. – A 64.1 field goal percentage from the floor helped the Mitchell College men's basketball team top Southern Vermont College 93-80 Tuesday night at the Mountaineer Athletic Center in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action.
SVC senior captain Taeshon Johnson (Charlotte, N.C.) thrived on the Senior Night atmosphere to score a game-high 33 points, also a season-high, to pass former Mountaineer Chris Davis for third on the all-time Southern Vermont leader board (1,443); . Mitchell junior forward Joshua Ford (Jersey City, N.J.) matched with 33 of his own.
The game, originally scheduled for this past Saturday, was rescheduled to Tuesday evening due to Winter Storm Nemo.
The Senior Night festivities helped fuel a boost of momentum early on for SVC as sophomore captain Travis Severs (Bennington, Vt.) knocked down a three, shortly followed by another long-ball by freshman guard Jacob Schongar (Lansingburgh, N.Y.) to give the Mountaineers an 8-6 advantage. Following a Severs steal, Johnson cleaned up a missed SVC layup with a strong put-back dunk.
Mitchell would be quick to recover, however, as sophomore guard Alex Pires (Valhalla, N.Y.) answered with a three-pointer to quiet the home crowd. Following a Johnson layup, the Mariners went on a 10-0 run to go ahead 19-12. When MC tried to pull away, the Mountaineers responded with help from Johnson who had 18 in the first period.
With the Mariners up 32-22 with 7:23 to play, Southern Vermont sophomore Tyler Hess (Southwick, Mass.) was left with space to shoot from the left side and buried a three to keep Mitchell within range. The teams went back-and-forth with MC leading by 12 at a couple moments, but the Mountaineers fought and were able to cut the lead down to six before a layup by Mariner junior forward Anthony Epps (Norwalk, Conn.) with seconds to play gave Mitchell the 49-41 lead going into the locker room.
Southern Vermont sophomore captain Jermaine Campbell (Bridgeport, Conn.) used a Mitchell turnover to hit a three early into the second half, but the Mitchell efficiency from the floor disallowed SVC to get any closer than seven for the remainder of the game. Ford would net 19 in the second stanza on 9-12 shooting from the field as the Mariners secured the 93-80 victory.
Johnson pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds on the evening for the double-double as Campbell scored 15 points to go along with three rebounds. Severs would finish with 12 points as Schongar recorded 11 points, five rebounds and five assists in the effort.
Epps followed Ford with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds, and freshman forward Devonta Mosely (Gainesville, Fla.) had 16 points off the bench for the Mariners. Junior captain Alex Del Rio Jr. (New Britain, Conn.) finished with a game-high eight assists.
The Mountaineers (1-23 overall, 1-14 NECC) will finish their season on Saturday with an 8:30 p.m. tip at Lesley University. The Mariners (12-10 overall, 8-6 NECC) next visit the Hawks of Becker College on Thursday for a 7 p.m. game.