FREDERICK, Md. – After trailing by five at halftime, that margin would be closest Southern Vermont College would cut the Hood College lead to in the second period as the Blazers won the Second Annual Rotary Club of Frederick Holiday Classic, 80-66, Sunday afternoon on their home court in non-conference men's basketball action.
With the loss, the Mountaineers fall to 7-3 on the season, finishing the non-league schedule with a 6-3 mark. Hood improves its record to 5-4 with the win.
Southern Vermont freshman Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) led the team with 20 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists while sophomore forward DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Conn.) notched his first double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-best 11 boards, adding two blocked shots to his line. They were both named to the Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team for their weekend's performances.
Three starting Blazers made their way to double-digit points with senior guard Justin Bowens (Frederick, Md.) leading the way at 15 while junior guard Chris Cook (Mechanicsville, Va.) followed with 14.
Early foul trouble once again put Southern Vermont in a bind as starting junior forward Izzy Melton (Silver Spring, Md.) picked up two personals in the first 1:10 of the game. That paved the way for Hamlet to play 17 minutes off the bench in the opening stanza, recording a team-best nine points and sharing the rebound mark at six with classmate and captain Antoine White (Germantown, Md.). The Mountaineers never led after Hood took the first basket and went on to open up a 22-14 lead with a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Davon Hill (Clinton, Md.) midway through the first.
Hood's full court press proved problematic for SVC as the Mountaineers turned the ball over on their first two possessions under the pressure. The Blazers led by as many as 13 (30-17) after another trey, this time by junior forward Reggie Daniels (Abingdon, Md.). But Southern Vermont started breaking the press better and turned that transition into points before the Blazers backed off towards the end of the half, personal foul accumulation also playing a factor. The Mountaineers closed out the last seven minutes with a 15-7 advantage, capping off the run with a 3-ball by freshman guard Jordan Alston (Hughesville, Md.) with 40 seconds to play in the half to go into the locker room down just 37-32.
The Mountaineers shot a 44.0 percent clip from the floor in the opening frame but struggled from the free throw line, only hitting 9-of-21 attempts. 3-point shooting supported the Blazer offense as they went 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) in the first, yet totaled 9-for-31 from the floor (29.0 percent).
Both teams came out of the break cold, but Hood would slowly increase its lead to 44-32. At the 17:25 mark, Southern Vermont broke the press with a long inbound pass to freshman captain Davante Jordan (Great Mills, Md.) who then went strong to the hoop, getting the basket and the foul. He would convert the free throw for the three-point play, but HC responded right away with a bucket to push its lead back to nine (46-35). The Mountaineers picked up their sixth foul with 14:29 to play, then put Hood in the bonus less than a minute later on a loose ball foul on the offensive glass. The Blazers made the most of their trip to the charity line and went up 50-38 with 13:45 left on the clock.
HC maintained its 12-point lead through the midpoint of the second half, but Southern Vermont would not go quietly and started to close the gap. Being in the bonus themselves, the Mountaineers used two Taylor free throws and a Jordan swipe-and-run to make it 55-47 nearing the 9:00 mark. After a Hood basket, Hamlet converted two more free throws, and then sent a stolen ball down to Jordan for another fast-break layup. With 6:39 to go, SVC sophomore forward Dolapo Olugbile (Laurel, Md.) got fouled while putting the ball off the glass for a basket; he then knocked down the free throw for the Southern Vermont deficit to trim down to 61-54.
Less than a minute later, Taylor took the ball near midcourt and went all the way to the rim, laying it in to make it a five-point game (62-57). But that would be as close as Southern Vermont would get as Hood went back to the full court press, forcing a Mountaineer turnover en route to an 18-7 final five minutes. Mounting foul trouble on a slew of SVC players caused for cautious defense and free throw trips for the Blazers as Hood stayed on point for the 80-66 and Championship victory.
Olugbile finished with 10 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Mountaineers while Jordan had nine points, five boards and two assists. White recorded eight points on the night to go with his six rebounds and two assists.
Southern Vermont shot 42.9 percent (21-49) from the field while holding Hood to just a 35.0 percent clip (21-60). However, the Blazers held the advantage from the line as they went 30-for-43 (69.8 percent) and the Mountaineers were just 22-for-41 (53.7 percent).
Hood made the most of the 22 SVC turnovers, having 28 points resulting from the takeaways. Adversely, Southern Vermont scored just 14 off the 20 HC handling mistakes.
Blazer senior guard Cameron Cook (Baltimore, Md.) had 12 points on the afternoon, and junior forward Asa Smith (Cheltenham, Md.) recorded seven points and a team-high eight rebounds while coming off the bench.
Southern Vermont is off until after the winter break when the Mountaineers return to New England Collegiate Conference action with a Jan. 7 tip at Becker College (7 p.m.). Hood is back at it on Dec. 31 against Geneva College in the Adidas D3 Holiday Slam in Miami, Fla.