NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – In its fifth year, the Tri-State Shootout title is going to Southern Vermont College for the first time as the Mountaineers defeated defending-champion Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 109-88 in the championship game Saturday afternoon as Mass. College of Liberal Arts.
With the win, SVC improves to 6-1 on the season while RPI falls to 1-6.
Mountaineer sophomore forward DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Conn.) was named the tournament MVP while leading all players with 23 points and nine rebounds while adding a block. Freshman guard Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) added 21 points off the bench while adding four boards, four assists and three steals. Sophomore forward Dolapo Olugbile (Laurel, Md.) was also named to the All-Tournament Team with help from his 17 points and seven rebounds against Rensselaer.
The 109 points scored is the most for Southern Vermont since its 138-122 loss to Emory & Henry College back on Nov. 19, 2005; the Mountaineers had 123 in November of 2010 in the record-setting 7OT game against Skidmore College.
Junior guard Josh Dugas (Monroe, Conn.) led the Engineers with 12 points while senior guard Nick Keefe (Rensselaer, N.Y.) and freshman guard Nate Kane (Glenmont, N.Y.) each had 11.
SVC broke open a close game, scoring eight straight points at the close of the first half to grab a 57-48 lead at the break. The lead quickly expanded to double figures in the second half and the Mountaineers never looked back as they seemed to score at will.
Southern Vermont led by as many as 37 points in the closing half while taking the 109-88 win. SVC shot a sizzling 59.2 percent from the field, connecting on 45-of-76 shot attempts in the game.
Mountaineer freshman guard Davante Jordan (Great Mills, Md.) recorded 12 points, four assists and two steals while sophomore guard Antoine White (Germantown, Md.) added five rebounds and a game-best five assists.
Engineer senior guard Reggis Colas (Miami, Fla.) had nine points and five steals for RPI, and sophomore forward Nash Widowski (Macedonia, Ohio) chipped in with nine points off the bench.
Southern Vermont is off until Thursday, Dec. 12 when the Mountaineer visit Union College for a 7 p.m. tip while RPI goes into the winter break, resuming play at the 36th annual Greyhound Classic on Jan. 4 against John Jay College at 7:30 p.m.