BENNINGTON, Vt. — The sixth annual Tri-State Shootout men's basketball tournament, hosted by Southern Vermont College, had exciting finishes to both games at the Mountaineer Athletic Center Saturday afternoon. The hosting Mountaineers defeated Vermont Technical College 75-72 in the day's opener, and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts then defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 80-78 on a triple overtime buzzer-beater.
Southern Vermont improves to 5-2 on the year while MCLA moves to 2-4 on the season. The losses drop Vermont Tech. to 2-6 and RPI to 1-5.
VTC and the Engineers will match up Sunday for the 1 p.m. consolation game before SVC takes on the Trailblazers at 3 p.m. with the hopes to defend the tournament title.
GAME 1: Southern Vermont 75, Vermont Tech. 72
After leading by only three going into halftime, Southern Vermont extended its advantage to 16 midway through the second period. The Knights battled back to get within one late in the game, but a converted pair of free throws by the Mountaineers pushed their lead back to three with time waning. VTC was able to get off a desperation shot from beyond the perimeter right before the buzzer in an attempt to tie, one that was off target for Southern Vermont to win its third straight game.
SVC junior DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Connecticut) led his team with 21 points 12 rebounds, adding a game-high four steals off the bench. Classmate Casey Hall (Albany, New York) also notched a double-double, scoring 11 points to go with a game-best 13 boards; he swatted three Knight shots on the day. Junior captain Antoine White (Bethesda, Maryland) added 14 points and three assists while classmate William Bromirski (Cambridge, New York) registered nine points, all coming from three-point range.
VTC junior Jamal Hughes (Stone Mountain, Ga.) put up a game-high 28 points, adding two assists and two steals to his day. Junior Logan White (So. Royalton, Vermont) followed with 17 points on 5-8 shooting from beyond the arc; he also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the effort. Sophomore Nick Ryan (Perth, Australia) made his way to double digits with 12 points, nabbing five board in the process.
Team statistics were nearly even in every category, SVC out-rebounding the Knights just 48-42. The Mountaineers also had an 11-8 second-chance point advantage while edging VTC 27-24 on made field goals. The Knights owned a 12-6 nod on three-point baskets, but SVC put up 42 points in the paint compared to just 24 on the Vermont Tech. side.
Game 2: MCLA 80, RPI 78 (3OT)
The second contest of the day saw RPI take a lead in the first, going up by as many as six, only for the Trailblazers to come back and tie things going into the locker room. MCLA then went up by eight with under seven minutes to play in regulation, but the Engineers made the necessary shots down the stretch to tie the game 56-56 as time expired.
The two teams fought hard through each overtime, neither side leading by more than four through the duration of the three extra sessions. With the score set at 78-76 in favor of MCLA, Rensselaer junior Brian Hatcher (Danbury, Connecticut) made a layup with seven seconds to go to tie it at 78-78. Empty of timeouts, MCLA ran the floor before senior Ruben Delrosario (Springfield, Massachusetts) got a shot off right before the buzzer; with the red lights on the backboard glowing, the ball found its way through the hoop as the Trailblazers celebrated their dramatic victory.
MCLA junior Khalil Paul (Troy, New York) scored a team-high 28 points while classmate Paul Maurice (Mattapan, Massachusetts) followed with 15 off the bench. Delrossario finished with 10 points to go with his seven rebounds and four assists, a mark that tied the game-high.
Engineer junior Tyler Gendron (Merrimack, New Hampshire) scored a side-best 27 points off the bench on 11-18 field goal shooting, adding six rebounds in the effort. Classmate Chase Almond (South Kingstown, Rhode Island) put up a double-double with 24 points and a monstrous game-high of 17 rebounds while blocking a pair of Trailblazer shots.
RPI owned a 12-10 advantage in offensive rebounds, but the Engineers turned those into 12 second-chance points while MCLA only tallied four. Rensselaer shot at a 27-72 clip (37.5 percent) from the floor, and the Trailblazers finished with a 40.6 (28-69) field goal percentage. The game saw a total of 12 lead changes and 16 ties with neither team leading by more than eight at any point.