WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Despite trailing in the opening minutes of the second half, Southern Vermont College regained a lead and held on for a 75-68 win over Williams College in non-conference men's basketball action at Chandler Gymnasium Saturday night.

 

After losing 12 straight games to Williams, the Mountaineers have won their last two meetings with Williams. The victory marks the first for Southern Vermont on the Ephs' home court as last year's triumph was moved to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

 

SVC starts the season 1-0 while Williams, a team ranked No. 5 by D3Hoops.com's preseason poll, drops to 0-1 to begin the year.

 

Solid free throw shooting helped the Ephs pull to within four with just more than a minute to play, but the Mountaineers came up with a couple of clutch trips to the charity stripe to maintain their advantage and walk off with a win against last year's Division III national runner-up.

 

SVC utilized a balanced offense with five players reaching double digits in the points column. Senior captain Dolapo Olugbile led the team with 13 points to go with five rebounds and a blocked shot. Junior captain Antoine White, junior Casey Hall, and sophomore Davante Jordan each tallied 12 points with Hall pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. Junior William Bromirski registered 10 points with a pair of three-pointers in his first game as a Mountaineer.

 

Williams senior Hayden Rooke-Ley notched a game-best 20 points, going a perfect 15-15 from the free throw line. Classmate Ryan Kilcullen just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine boards while sophomore Daniel Aronowitz followed with 10 points and seven rebounds.

 

Pittsfield's Brandon Casella hit a 3-pointer and pulled down a rebound for the Mountaineers.

 

Southern Vermont now turns to its Monday home opener when the Mountaineers host Green Mountain College at 8 p.m., and the Ephs next welcome the SUNY Oneonta to Chandler Gymnasium on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. home tip-off.