MOUNTAINEERS CLIMB PAST PRIDE IN NECC OPENER

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College dropped a 64-41 decision to Southern Vermont College on Thursday night in New England Collegiate Conference men's basketball action in Weston, Mass. The Mountaineers improve to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the NECC, while Regis has now dropped three-straight to fall to 4-3 and 0-1 in league games.

Southern Vermont raced out to an early 10-2 lead as a tip-in by Casey Hall (Albany, N.Y.) at the 14:01 mark of the opening half forced a Regis timeout. Out of the break, Chris Keaton (Beverly, Mass.) connected on a deep triple to cut the deficit in half, and the Pride kept it a five point game minutes later as Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) tipped home a Hector Heredia (Lawrence, Mass.) miss to make it a 15-10 game.

The two teams traded baskets until four-straight freethrows by Deshawn Hamlet (Hartford, Conn.) pushed the Mountaineer lead to 24-14 with 7:32 to play. William Bromirski (Cambridge, N.Y.) buried a three to extend the lead to 27-14, but the Pride would not go away as a quick 5-0 spurt by the home team cut the deficit to eight with just over four minutes remaining in the half.

SVC answered with a 4-0 run of their own to go back up by 10, but the Pride chipped away and a pair of Sam Jean-Gilles (Melrose, Mass.) freebies with less than a minute remaining made it a 33-26 lead. With time running down in the half, Bromirski got off a floater from 14 feet out that found nothing but the bottom of the net and the Mountaineers took a 35-26 advantage into the break.

Casey Hall led all scorers at the break with eight points and six rebounds, while Jean-Gilles and Chris Keaton paced the Pride attack with six points apiece.

Southern Vermont opened the second half on a 13-0 run to take a commanding 48-26 lead, holding the Pride scoreless for the first eight minutes of the period. Jean-Gilles finally connected on a freethrow to end the run before an Ethan Peana (Staten Island, N.Y.) layup out of a timeout put the deficit back to 48-29.

Jean-Gilles would get Regis within 16 points with a layup at the 7:57 mark, and Jeff Tagger Jr. (Brockton, Mass.) would keep it there a minute later with a jumper of his own, but that would be as close as the Pride would get as Southern Vermont held on for their first NECC victory of the season.

Southern Vermont's Casey Hall posted a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds to go with three blocks to lead the Mountaineers. Deshawn Hamlet joined him in double figures with 13 points off the bench, while William Bromirski rounded out the scoring with 10 points.

Regis was led by nine points and six rebounds from Sam Jean-Gilles. Chirs Keaton and Ethan Peana chipped in eight points apiece, while Leak Jr. came off the bench to grab five rebounds.

The Crimson and Gold try and bounce back on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Daniel Webster College for a 1:00 p.m. meeting with the Eagles in league play. Southern Vermont host Vermont Tech on Saturday as part of the Tri-State Tournament hosted by SVC starting at 1:00 p.m.