BENNINGTON, Vt. — A strong performance in the paint helped Southern Vermont College down Mass. College of Liberal Arts 102-72 Friday night in the season opener for both teams, a non-conference men's basketball contest played in front of a capacity crowd at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
SVC outscored the visiting Trailblazers 56-16 inside the key during the Mountaineers' first home season opener since 2010. Southern Vermont used an 18-2 run midway through the first to take a strong lead it would carry into the break (44-25) before shooting 57.9 percent from the floor in the second half to increase its separation en route to the victory.
Mountaineer senior DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Conn.) had a dominant showing, dropping a game-high 23 points to go with his team-best nine rebounds. SVC junior Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) followed with 14 points and seven boards off the bench while senior captain Antoine White (Bethesda, Md.) tallied 10 points, three rebounds, and a game-high six assists. Senior Casey Hall (Albany, N.Y.) added another 10 points and five rebounds as classmate William Bromirski (Cambridge, N.Y.) chipped in with nine points on a pair of three-pointers.
MCLA was led by senior Khalil Paul (Troy, N.Y.) who registered 13 points, two rebounds and two assists while junior Dakari Hannah-Wornum (Dorchester, Mass.) had six points to go along with his game-highs of 12 rebounds and four blocks. Junior Careem Kirksey (Dorchester, Mass.) tallied 12 points on three treys, and senior Paul Maurice (Boston, Mass.) provided 10 points and five rebounds in the effort.
The Mountaineers are now off until next weekend, resuming play Friday, November 20 with the opening day of the Hoopsville National Invitational Classic to be hosted by Stevenson University in Maryland; SVC will line up with Salisbury University at 4 p.m. to kick-off the tournament. MCLA turns right around to a Sunday contest, hosting Norwich University for the Trailblazers' home opener at 2 p.m. Southern Vermont and MCLA will meet up once again on December 12 in the opening round of the Tri-state Shootout Tournament to be hosted by Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute.
SVC shot 48.1 percent from the field on the night while holding MCLA to a 31.7 percent mark. The Mountaineers turned the Trailblazers' 21 turnovers into 29 points as the visitors took only a nine-point benefit from Southern Vermont's 15 giveaways.
Hamlet scored four of the first six points in the game to give the Mountaineers an early 6-0 cushion, but MCLA was able to cut it down to a two-point deficit with a stretch capped by a Kirksey bucket from downtown. The Trailblazers continued to chip away and took a 12-11 lead after sophomore Joseph Wiggins (Pittsfield, Mass.) corralled a blocked SVC shot and converted a layup on the other end. That would be MCLA's only lead of the night, however, as the Mountaineers went back in front on a pair of free throws by sophomore Daemond Carter (Forestville, Md.).
Southern Vermont then scored 12 unanswered points to open up its lead, the last three coming on a deep ball by Hamlet for the 27-14 advantage with 7:13 to go in the first half. Two consecutive Trailblazer layups made it a nine-point SVC upper hand, but the Mountaineers then scored six of the next seven to once again extend their lead. Southern Vermont outscored MCLA by an 11-3 margin in the final four minutes of the period, freshman Josh Borders (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) sinking a three to send his team into the locker room ahead 44-25.
White knocked down a jumper on the opening possession of the second half, starting a 7-0 SVC run that put the Mountaineers up by 26. The Trailblazers' deep shooting started to heat up as Paul hit two treys before Kirksey followed with another during an 11-3 MCLA run that forced an SVC timeout. Kirksey would hit another three a minute out of the stoppage, but the Mountaineers' efficiency continued for the hosts to maintain their distance.
Carter completed an and-one play to top off an 11-1 SVC run halfway through the stanza, and a nice Hamlet dish across the paint in transition allowed an open Hall to slam one home to electrify the MAC faithful and put Southern Vermont up 82-51 with just under eight minutes to play. Trailblazer sophomore Merle Darling (Plainfield, Vt.) came off the MCLA bench to hit a pair of three-pointers as time waned, only to see the fast-paced Mountaineer offense tick into triple digits to start the season 1-0 for the third straight year.
SVC has now won the last two meetings between the pair, cutting MCLA's all-time series lead to 4-3.