FREDERICK, Md. – Despite losing two late-game leads, the Southern Vermont College men's basketball team defeated Penn State Harrisburg 88-84 in double overtime Saturday night in the first round of the 2013 Rotary of Frederick Holiday Classic hosted by Hood College in Frederick, Md.
With six Mountaineers from the Md. area, a home-type crowd helped Southern Vermont move to 7-2 on the season. The loss knocks the Lions to 4-5 on the year.
SVC freshman guard Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) finished with a career-high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds and game-highs of seven assists and four steals.
Southern Vermont started out with the edge, including two 3-pointers in the first four minutes by Taylor to give the Mountaineers a 9-4 lead and force the Lions to burn a timeout. PSH then found itself in early foul trouble as the team combined for five in the first 5:08 of the game, eventually putting SVC in the bonus with 10:01 to go. Southern Vermont was unable to take advantage, however, as the Mountaineers shot only 58.3 percent (7-12) from the line in the opening stanza.
With SVC up 16-15, junior forward Izzy Melton (Silver Spring, Md.) put down the next two baskets to increase the lead to 20-15. The Lions would stay close, using a three-ball by senior guard William Doyle (Franklin, Va.) to make it a 21-18 game. SVC continued to attack the basket, drawing fouls in the process; the Mountaineers used their trips to the line to make it a 27-18 game with 5:21 to go in the first, but the Lions would do the same as they were 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the opening period to cut down Southern Vermont's lead and eventually take the 29-27 advantage.
Another 3-pointer for Harrisburg notched the score at 32-27 before the Mountaineers ended the 14-0 Lion run, and their own seven-and-a-half minute scoring drought, with a put-back basket by sophomore forward Dolapo Olugbile (Laurel, Md.) as the teams went into the intermission with PSH up 32-29.
Adverse to the Lions' free throw shooting, SVC went 7-for-12 while only hitting two of its seven 3-point attempts; Harrisburg was 4-for-12 (33.3 percent) while both teams were 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) from the floor for the half. Taylor led the Mountaineers with 11 points while Doyle had 13 for the Lions.
Southern Vermont started the second half with a strong showing, going on a 15-3 run to open the stanza. Doyle would knock down a three with 11:20 to play and close down the Mountaineer lead to seven (45-38), coming back shortly after with another to make it 46-41. Olugbile then went on a sterling stretch as he put away an easy two, blocked a shot on the other end, and then finished with a three to give SVC a 51-41 edge.
After a layup by Mountaineer junior guard Jermaine Campbell (Bridgeport, Conn.) made it 57-43 with 5:17 to play, the Lions went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to close the lead down to 57-53. Doyle then came off a screen with another 3-pointer to close within one as 1:50 stood on the clock, but Taylor would drive the baseline and get fouled as the shot clock was winding down. With Southern Vermont in the bonus, Taylor put the front end of the one-and-one off the back rim, getting the bounce to fall. He would miss the second as the score stood at 58-56. After an errant Lion field goal attempt, SVC sophomore forward DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Conn.) grabbed the rebound and was subsequently fouled. Still with the one-and-one, Hamlet missed the first shot with 25.4 seconds on the clock and Harrisburg went down trying to take the lead with a 3-ball by freshman guard Marqueese Daniels (Wyncote, Pa.).
He would miss, however, as Taylor grabbed the carom and was once again fouled. With Southern Vermont now in the double bonus, the freshman hit the first but miss the second, giving the Lions one last opportunity. Doyle dribbled across midcourt and put up a desperation three with one second left, only to have a foul called on SVC sophomore guard Antoine White (Germantown, Md.) in the act of shooting; Doyle would convert each of the three free throws to tie things at 59-59 and send the game into an extra session.
White started the overtime with one-of-two free throws to give Southern Vermont a brief lead as the Lions came back down and regained the lead with a basket by Daniels; he then converted another to put Harrisburg up three (63-60). In the ensuing possession, Hamlet had a put-back to close the Lion lead to just one, but Harrisburg responded with a bucket of its own on the opposite end. Hamlet then tied things back up after grabbing a missed Taylor three-pointer and putting it off the glass for the bucket and the foul; he knocked down the extra chance for the old-fashioned three-point play and made it a 65-65 ballgame. Seemingly just as fast, however, the Lions would get an and-one of their own to go back up by three (68-65).
Hamlet again came up big with another basket to close back to within one with 1:30 to go in the first overtime. Harrisburg then recorded its first miss from the line but would make the second to put the Lions up 69-67. SVC came right back with a huge long-ball by White to put the Mountaineers up 70-69 with 59.5 seconds to go. A Mountaineer foul put Lion freshman guard Logan Stovall (Palmyra, Pa.) to the line, but he missed both, giving Southern Vermont a chance to go down the court quickly for a layup opportunity by Melton that was called good on a goaltending violation. With the Mountaineers up 72-69, Harrisburg utilized a timeout to draw up a play for Doyle. He took the ball on the left side beyond the three-point arc, put it up and got it to go as time wound down and the game headed for its second overtime.
Taylor helped the Mountaineers in the final period from the free throw line as he would hit one-of-two early in, then finished an and-one play to go up 76-72. The Lions would convert an easy back-door layup, but Taylor knocked down another jumper to push the SVC advantage back to four (78-74). After Harrisburg missed two free throws, Taylor dropped a nice no-look pass to Melton who finished for the 80-74 lead. From there, the game was played at the free throw line with Southern Vermont converting on 8-of-12 chances to take a lead the Lions could not overcome. Late free throws and an easy Harrisburg layup tightened the SVC lead, but it was not enough as the Mountaineers held on for the 88-84 victory.
Hamlet had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Mountaineers while Melton notched 20 points and nine boards. Olugbile scored 12 points, and freshman guard Davante Jordan (Great Mills, Md.) added five assists and three steals.
Doyle dropped a season-high 40 points to go with four rebounds, and Daniels finished up with 12 points and five boards.
The Mountaineers shot 50.0 percent (30-60) from the floor while only hitting 23-of-44 free throws (52.3 percent). Harrisburg was 44.8 percent (26-58) from field goal range with help from 10-of-26 shooting from beyond the arc. The Lions finished with 75.9 percent (22-29) from the charity stripe after going a perfect 14-14 during regulation.
Southern Vermont will play the championship game Sunday at 3 p.m. against Hood which beat Bryn Athyn College 72-66 in the nightcap. BAC and PSH will match up at 1 p.m. in the consolation game.