BENNINGTON, Vt. – The top-seeded Southern Vermont College men's basketball team came extremely close to finishing off a thrilling comeback during the 2017 New England Collegiate Conference Championship at the Mountaineer Athletic Center Saturday afternoon, but No. 2 Becker College was able to fend off the late push with a stellar showing at the free throw line to secure a 79-70 victory and a trip to the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament.
The Hawks led by as many as 18 during the first half before SVC chipped away to make it just an eight-point deficit at the intermission. Becker pushed it back to a 14-point difference with 7:18 left to go—only to see the Mountaineers' resiliency cut it to a 64-60 score down the stretch.
A pair of Southern Vermont free throws kept it at a four-point separation (68-65) with 2:01 on the clock, but the Hawks drained a three-pointer before going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final 40 seconds to gain some breathing room and win their second NECC crown.
SVC closes out the year at 17-10 overall while Becker brings a 19-8 record into the NCAA's.
This marks the third time in the last four years that the NECC's top seed has fallen in the men's basketball championship game, and it is the fifth overall occurrence in the nine-year history of the league.
Becker sophomore Kareem Davis (Lowell, Mass.) dropped a game-high 31 points while adding a pair of rebounds and two steals on his way to being named the Tournament MVP. Senior Kyle Credle (Queens, N.Y.), who also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, added 16 points and seven boards in the win. Junior Samuel Durodola (Rosedale, N.Y.) tallied 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks on the day.
Southern Vermont was led offensively by senior Nate Goldsmith (Capitol Heights, Md.) who had 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals; his play in the postseason earned him a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Junior Claude Payne (South Plainfield, N.J.) followed with 14 points in addition to tying the game-high in rebounds with 10, and senior Rayshawn Taylor (Silver Spring, Md.) grabbed another 10 boards while scoring 13 points and dishing out four assists. Sophomores Josh Borders (Miami, Fla.) and Kyle Depollar (Rockville, Md.) each added 10 points for the hosts.
Neither side was too efficient from the floor as the Mountaineers went 26-for-68 (38.2 percent) as Becker connected on 37.7 percent (23-61) of its field goal attempts. The Hawks had an 8-5 advantage in triples and owned a big upper hand from the line—going 25-for-29 (86.2 percent) while SVC was 13-for-22 (59.1 percent). Becker pulled down a slim 44-42 edge on the glass, but Southern Vermont was able to outscore the Hawks 13-12 in second-chance points. The Mountaineers also had a 34-20 advantage in points from the paint.
The Hawks never trailed during the afternoon after going up 6-2 with a pair of Davis treys from the right side. Becker pushed it to an 11-5 lead as freshman Antonio White Jr. (Middletown, Conn.) finished off a pretty reverse layup from the right side of the baseline, and the visitors then stormed to a 15-2 run with the help of a Davis triple from the right corner and another four points by the sophomore.
Becker senior Khairi Mosley (Elizabeth, N.J.) drilled a three from the left edge with a hand in his face at the 7:33 mark, and Credle followed with a jumper on the Hawks' next trip down the floor to give Becker what ended up being its biggest lead of the night (31-13). That's when the Mountaineers started to trim their deficit and get themselves back into it by the break.
Borders pulled up and dropped home a jumper from the top of the key to get his team within 13, and he then hit a huge three-pointer from the right corner to get the SVC fans going and create a deafening atmosphere at the standing-room-only event. That downtown bucket was part of an 11-2 Southern Vermont run that closed out the period and made it a six-point Becker edge after the opening 20 minutes.
Taylor got a floater in the lane to go early in the second half, Davis connected on back-to-back shots from outside the arc to push the difference into double digits once again. Depollar found the bottom of the basket for a big three-pointer from the right edge—getting nothing but net to make it an eight-point game.
Mosley answered with a swish of his own, and a Credle jumper three minutes later set the score at 54-41. With the Hawks up by 14, Southern Vermont made a run to keep the game in reach with 10-unanswered points. Borders sank an open look from the right side of the perimeter, and Depollar followed with another from the left side on the Mountaineers' next possession. Depollar then ran the floor and laid it in off a Taylor feed—making it 64-60 with 4:27 left to play.
Davis stepped up and calmly knocked home a three from the right edge for an eight-point lead, but Payne went 2-for-2 on a pair of trips to the line to get it back to four. Credle ran the shot clock all the way down before setting up and dropping in another downtown basket in the final minute, however, for a comfortable, seven-point upper hand.
Missed SVC shots forced the Mountaineers to foul as time ran down, but the Hawks made the most of their bonus opportunities as they connected on all eight freebies they took in the last 40 seconds to keep the hosts from getting it to a one-possession game. Davis' last two free throws, with a handful of ticks left on the clock, put the game away for Becker to celebrate its first NECC title since 2012.
2017 NECC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team
Kareem Davis – Becker College (So. – Lowell, Mass.) Tournament MVP
Kyle Credle – Becker College (Sr. – Queens, N.Y.)
Nate Goldsmith – Southern Vermont College (Sr. – Capitol Heights, Md.)
Mike Pierre – Southern Vermont College (Jr. – Melrose, N.Y.)
Nicholas Fenton – Wheelock College (Sr. – East Hartford, Conn.)
Devon Mayo – Lesley University (Sr. – Newport News, Va.)
– #LetsGoSVC –