BROOKLINE, Mass. – Southern Vermont College lost 77-74 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Newbury College in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's basketball action.
NC junior guard Mills Carrasco (Haverhill, Mass.) registered 18 of his career-high 25 points as the Nighthawks outscored the Mountaineers 40-31 in the second period.
Mountaineer sophomore forward DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Conn.) led all players with 29 points, adding 11 rebounds and two blocks in the effort to register his sixth double-double of the year. Sophomore forward Dolapo Olugbile (Luarel, Md.) notched his first double-double of the season, recording 10 points and a game-best 13 boards.
It was a back-and-forth battle for a majority of the first half. Junior forward Daniel Thelemaque (Somerville, Mass.) gave the Nighthawks a 6-3 lead, knocking down a layup prior to adding a pair of free-throws nearly four minutes into the contest. However, the Mountaineers responded on their next position and set the tone for the game. Hamlet sparked a 10-0 run, draining a trey to take a 13-6 lead.
Newbury refused to quit and chipped away at the deficit. Thelemaque connected with Carrasco at the perimeter to cap off a six-minute 11-2 run and take a 17-15 lead, but it did not last for very long as Hamlet put the Mountaineers back on top, 19-17, with a put-back off a missed three-point attempt from sophomore Ervin Cook (Bethesda, Md.).
In a half that featured four lead changes and two ties, the Nighthawks jumped back on top once again on Carrasco treys, but that was short-lived. With less than five minutes remaining in the period, freshman guard Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) ignited a 12-1 Mountaineer run, draining a three at 4:37 to take a nine-point lead (32-23) into the locker room.
The Nighthawks returned to the hard-court at the start of the second half with a renewed sense of energy. After Hamlet gave the Mountaineers their largest lead of the game at 35-23, draining his second trey of the day, Thelemaque answered with a three-pointer of his own to cut the deficit back down to nine.
But momentum still appeared to be favoring the Mountaineers as the Nighthawks did not lead once during the entire second period. Five minutes into the half, Hamlet picked the pocket of Watson and took it back down court for the fast-break layup and put Southern Vermont back up by double figures, 42-31.
Midway through the half, after first-year guard Jordan Alston (Hughesville, Md.) put the Mountaineers back on top by 11 for the fourth time in three minutes, sophomore guard Earl Hassell (New Haven, Conn.) answered. The Connecticut native drained one from downtown to cut the deficit back down to single digits, sparking a momentum shift as the Nighthawks clawed their way back.
With three minutes remaining on the clock, Carrasco swung the momentum over to the Newbury side, draining his sixth three-pointer to make it a two-possession game. Moments later, following a missed three-point attempt by Watson, the North Shore native found his way into the low-post and corralled the offensive board before laying it back in while drawing a foul in the process. Carrasco converted on the three-point play to bring the Nighthawks back to within one of the lead at 59-58.
Southern Vermont sophomore guard Antoine White (Germantown, Md.) knocked down a pair of free throws to increase the Mountaineer lead to three (61-58), but the Nighthawks had all the answers. Watson knotted up the game at 61-61 with a trey at the 1:29 mark. Moments later, White was able to push the lead back to two with a layup, but Hassell and Watson went to the charity stripe twice in the remaining seconds to send the game into overtime all square at 63-63.
The Mountaineers wasted no time at the start of the five minute extra session. White found Hamlet open at the perimeter to give Southern Vermont a 66-63 advantage just 28 seconds into overtime. But the Nighthawks were not going to be denied their chance of splitting the season series.
Trailing 67-65, Watson knocked down a pair of free throws to knot up the score for the fifth time all game (67-67) before picking the pocket of Olugbile and converting the fast-break layup. Moments later, junior forward David Hart (Keene, N.H.) extended Newbury's lead to 71-67 with a layup in the paint before fellow junior and center Cameron Owen (Concord, N.H.) sealed the deal, connecting on a wide-open three to give the Nighthawks the 74-70 advantage.
Newbury did not look back as Owen and Carrasco combined to go 3-for-4 from the charity stripe in the remaining 20 seconds to take the 77-74 victory.
NC improves to 2-8 in conference play and 2-17 overall while Southern Vermont falls to 12-8 and 6-5 in NECC action.
The Nighthawks look to continue their winning ways when they hit the road Tuesday, visiting Becker College at 8 p.m. The Mountaineers will also be in action Tuesday at 8 when they host Lesley University.