NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior Nate Goldsmith (Capitol Heights, Md.) drilled a three-pointer from the top of the arc with just 6.8 seconds left to go in overtime Saturday night, dropping a basket that would be the game winner for the Southern Vermont College men's basketball team in an 83-80 victory over Trinity College at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's Hampton Inn Classic held at the Tripp Athletics Center.
SVC led just 42-41 at halftime of the first-ever meeting between the two squads, but the Bantams came back to tie things at the end of regulation. Southern Vermont had a five-point edge midway through the extra five-minute session, only to see Trinity tie it up at 80-80 with 31 ticks left.
Goldsmith took a pass from the left side as time ran down, and he calmly connected on the three-pointer before a desperation tie attempt by Trinity went wayward.
Southern Vermont (1-2) now heads back to Bennington to prepare for its home opener on Tuesday, SVC welcoming Johnson State College to the Mountaineer Athletic Center for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
Goldsmith tallied a career-high in points, notching 18 in regulation to top his previous personal-best of 17 before adding another seven in overtime to tie the game-high of 25; he also had eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win. Fellow senior Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) came just one point shy of his career-best, dropping 24 while grabbing a team-high nine rebounds and dishing out a pair of helpers.
SVC junior Daemond Carter (Forestville, Md.) finished with 12 points and a pair of boards while sophomore Josh Borders (Miami, Fla.) had nine points, five rebounds and a game-best five assists. Senior Davante Jordan (Great Mills, Md.) provided eight points, six boards, two assists and two steals in 36 minutes of start time for the Mountaineers.
Trinity connected on 42.2 percent (27-64) of its field goal attempts while Southern Vermont hit on 28-of-71 (39.4 percent) of its shots from the floor. The Mountaineers outshot TC from deep by a 9-6 margin while the Bantams took a 40-32 edge in points from the paint. SVC won the turnover battle by a 26-19 margin, but Trinity was able to utilize its takeaways for a 27-23 upper hand in points off turnovers. The Bantams also had a strong advantage on the glass, pulling down 55 rebounds to Southern Vermont's 37.
SVC would lead by as many as 11 during the first half, only to see the Bantams cut their deficit and go into the intermission down by one. Goldsmith drove down the right side of the paint early on, drawing the foul while scoring the basket; he'd knock down his third free throw in 19 second's time, putting Southern Vermont ahead 10-4. Soon-after, sophomore Andrew Wimbush (Capitol Heights, Md.) pulled down an offensive board, passed it off and opened himself up on the right edge of the perimeter; he'd collect and shoot, knocking down the three that put SVC on top 13-6.
The treys continued to fall for the Mountaineers as Carter put one up while falling backwards in the right corner, getting it to go for the 18-10 advantage. Off a turnover, Southern Vermont moved the ball around well before Carter found Borders on the left side of the arc-- the sophomore getting nothing but net for the 26-18 lead. Taylor then made a nice drive through the paint, drawing attention before kicking it out to Jordan on the right side of the perimeter for a three-pointer that put his team ahead 31-20.
That's when Trinity started to chip away, however, to keep the game from getting out of hand. A slew of SVC fouls sent various Bantams to the charity stripe down the final stretch of the half, giving TC a chance to get back in it. That led to a 9-0 run by Trinity in just over a three-minute span, tying the game at 33-33. The teams traded scores through the final minutes before a TC put-back with 16 seconds left made for a 42-41 SVC lead that was brought into halftime.
The Bantams connected on their first three field goals of the second period, going on top 48-42. Goldsmith would help his team stay in striking distance, however, knocking down his first two shots of the half with the second being an 18-foot swish to make it a 48-46 TC edge. A back-to-back pair of treys by Trinity set it back to an eight-point difference, but that would be the Bantams' biggest lead the rest of the way.
Goldsmith knocked down his first four field goal attempts in the second stanza, his fourth coming as he drew a foul for a successful and-one play that made it a 56-54 Trinity lead. SVC forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Taylor turned that into an old-fashioned three-point play of his own to put the advantage back in the hands of the Mountaineers (57-56).
The lead was traded four more times over the next few minutes before Taylor pulled up and drilled a three to make it a 62-60 SVC edge with just over eight minutes to go. Trinity tied it up twice more before pulling ahead 68-66 with 3:23 left to go, but a clutch pair of Taylor free throws preceded Borders taking a Goldsmith kick-out and drilling home a downtown shot from the right corner to make it a 71-68 ballgame.
Layups were traded before Trinity sunk a three of its own to tie it at 73-73 with just 1:09 left on the clock. The rest of the half saw a combined five missed shots from the two sides, sending the game to extra minutes.
Neither side could pull away in the overtime period, a Goldsmith layup at the 2:32 mark giving SVC a two-possession lead at 79-74 for the biggest advantage of the stanza. Southern Vermont led by three heading into the final minute, but Trinity was able to swipe the ball and turn it into a three-point play-- the successful free throw tying it at 80-80 with 31 ticks left.
As a second overtime became more possible, SVC used a timeout to talk it over. The Mountaineers came out of the stoppage and set up their play, finding Goldsmith at the top of the arc as he grabbed a pass from Borders and let it fly; the shot was right on the mark, forcing the Bantams to use a timeout of their own with only 6.8 seconds on the clock. Trinity couldn't get a good look for its game-tying attempt, allowing SVC to celebrate its first win of the year.
– #LetsGoSVC –