Men's Basketball

Second Half Surge Powers Mountaineers Past Mariners

FINAL	1	2	T
Mitchell (3-5 (1-1 NECC))	42	32	74
Southern Vt. (1-8 (1-1 NECC))	36	53	89
Bennington,Vt

Mitchell	Southern Vt.
Pts: Paul Jefferson - 16	Pts: Taeshon Johnson - 26
Reb: Joshua Ford - 18	Reb: Taeshon Johnson - 9
Ast: Enoch Contreras - 7	Ast: Jordan Santiago - 7

Team Statistics	Mitchell	Southern Vt.
Field Goal %	46.8% (29-62 )	55.4% (31-56 )
Rebounds	37	34
Assists	16	14
Turnovers	22	15
Pts off Turnovers	12	24
2nd Chance Pts	25	7
Bench Pts	20	10

full stats

BENNINGTON, Vt.- The Southern Vermont College Mountaineers used a strong second half, to power past the visiting Mitchell College Mariners in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action. Saturday afternoon, SVC erased a six point halftime deficit to earn its first victory of the season, 89-74 at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.

Junior captain, Taeshon Johnson (Charlotte, NC) led the Mountaineers to its first win of the year with 26 points and nine rebounds. Reigning NECC Rookie of the Week, Jordan Santiago (Westfield, MA) was impressive again with 21 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Robert McQueen (Los Angeles, CA) scored 14 on four of seven shooting while Avery Mitchell (Schenectady, NY) scored all 10 of his points in the second half.

In the defeat Mitchell College's Joshua Ford (Jersey City, NJ) had a double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds. Paul Jefferson (Waterbury, CT) dropped 16 points while Enoch Contreras (Boca Raton, FL) had 13.

For the majority of the first half Southern Vermont led, with the lead as high as nine. However, at the 3:30 mark the Mariners took the lead on a three pointer from Contreras. The Mariners kept the lead the rest of the half and went to the break with a 42-36 advantage.

In the second half the Mountaineers came out on fire as they outscored Mitchell 53-32. Less than three minutes into the second half McQueen drilled his second three pointer of the frame to cut the lead to one. On the next possession Santiago slid through the lane for a layup and a Mountaineer 49-48 lead. After a free throw from SVC and a bucket from Mitchell tied the game at 50 for the fourth time of the day, the Mountaineers went on a 8-1 run.  

The Mountaineers never relinquished its lead and led by as many as 17 with 50 seconds remaining. Forwards Cory Christensen and Brandon Johnson played important minutes for SVC as they had eight and six points respectively. Christensen also had six rebounds in the win.

For Mitchell free throw shooting was its Achilles heel as the Mariners shot thirty percent from the line. Southern Vermont earned 34 trips to the charity stripe and converted on 25 for a 73.5 free throw percentage.

SVC ends its first semester schedule with a 1-8 record and 1-1 in NECC play. The Mountaineers will take on Sage College January 4^th on the road. The Mariners are also 1-1 in NECC play and 3-5 overall. After the break Mitchell will take on NECC newcomer Regis College January 7^th.