WESTON, Mass. – The Southern Vermont College men's basketball team started New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play Thursday night, falling 94-80 at Regis College's Higgins Court as the league rivalry continued.

Both teams notched 42 points in the second half, but it was the Pride's 14-point advantage through the opening 20 minutes that was the difference maker.

The RC win evens the all-time series at 7-7 while also snapping SVC's 34-game regular season NECC winning streak which dated back to February of 2014.

Next up for the Mountaineers (2-4, 0-1 NECC) is their final Conference game before the winter break, hosting Lesley University on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip-off.

Four of the five starters for SVC made their way into double digits in the points column, sophomore guard Josh Borders (Miami, Fla.) leading the team with a career-best 22; he also had four rebounds on the night. Senior Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) followed with 21 points, two boards and two assists while fellow senior Davante Jordan (Great Mills, Md.) notched 15 points, four steals and three assists. Senior Nate Goldsmith (Capitol Heights, Md.) chalked up 13 points and two rebounds in the effort.

Both sides were efficient from the floor, Regis registering a 50.8 field goal percentage (30-59) while the Mountaineers went 33-for-68 (48.5 percent) on their attempts. The Pride went to the free throw line significantly more often, going 24-for-33 from the charity stripe while SVC had a 7-for-9 mark on freebies. Southern Vermont made 10 steals to the Pride's four, using its 23-14 advantage in turnovers for a 31-19 edge in points off giveaways. The offensive glass was a huge factor, however, as Regis' 21-9 upper hand in rebounds on that end made way for a 23-3 nod in second-chance points.

Neither side scored consecutive baskets in the first five minutes off the opening tip as SVC dropped a pair of three-pointers to create a 10-6 edge. Regis then tallied eight unanswered points to pull in front, and four three-pointers helped the hosts go up 32-17 midway through the half. Southern Vermont stormed back with nine-straight points, Jordan and Taylor each recording four during that stretch.

A Taylor triple soon-after cut it to a 33-31 RC edge, but the hosts then opened things up with a 15-0 surge for a sizable lead. Borders drilled a three in the final minute, and he then hit a jumper with 19 ticks left to make it a 52-38 game going into the break.

Scoring was traded after the intermission before a Jordan trey set the score at 59-49. SVC notched six unanswered points after that to get within four, Taylor laying in a pair of buckets to make it 59-55. Regis was able to extend it back to a 10-point lead, however, and a Pride triple at the 9:15 mark put the hosts on top by 12. After Southern Vermont got it back to single digits, seven unanswered by Regis made it a 15-point RC upper hand with 3:35 to go.

Back-to-back layups by Taylor and Goldsmith cut it down to nine with 1:14 to go, and Borders completed an old-fashioned three-point play on the Mountaineers' next trip down the floor to get within eight. Regis would be successful from the line down the stretch, however, going 6-for-8 in the last 53 seconds to finish off the victory.

– #LetsGoSVC –