Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Southern Vermont College (1-0) turned a two-point second half lead into an 11-point lead over a five-minute span midway through the second half and defeated Williams College (0-1) 75-68.
The SVC surge was keyed by a three pointer by Davante Jordan a traditional three-point play by Jordan bookending a Casey Hall lay-in and a short jumper by Antoine White.
Williams led 39-36 at the half and opened up an early five-point lead in the second half on two free throws by Hayden Rooke-Ley before the Mountaineers took control. The Ephs had led just twice in the first half.
"I thought in the first half we defended and rebounded the way we talked about and we forced them to take hard shots, but we did not have a lot of poise on offense," said Eph head coach Kevin App who was making his collegiate head coaching debut. "I thought we competed, but we forced things too much and did not let the game come to us."
"We're a team with a lot of guys playing in new roles, but I thought our freshman played well overall," App added.
Davante Jordan scored 12 points and was one of five Mountaineers in double figures on the night. Dolapo Olugbile led SVC with 13 points. Antoine White and Casey Hall netted 12, while William Bromirski added 10.
The Ephs were victimized by 21 turnovers and seven steals by SVC that turned into some easy hoops for the Mountaineers.
Southern Vermont hit on hit on 29 of 60 shots from the floor (48.3%), 6 of 17 from three point range (35.3%) and although they only hit on 11 of 18 from the free throw line they made them late and made them count.
Casey Hall led SVC on the glass with seven rebounds and Jeff James and Antoine White both had two assists.
The Ephs were led by Hayden Rooke-Ley who tallied a game-high 20 points. Ryan Kilcullen (13) and Dan Aronowitz (10) joined Rooke-Ley in double figures. Ed Flynn led the Ephs with three assists.
The Ephs out rebounded the Mountaineers 39-31with Kilcullen grabbing a game-high nine.
The Ephs shot just 35.3% from the floor on the night and could only manage five baskets in the second half. Twenty-four of the Ephs' 68 points came from the free throw line.
Southern Vermont will next play on the 17th when they host Green Mountain College and the Ephs return to action on Tuesday when they will host Oneonta State.
