Box Score
Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Southern Vermont College (SVC) used a 10-2 run to take a seven-point lead late in the second half and the Mountaineers held off the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team, 75-73, in a non-league game at Robison Gym. The Mountaineers improve to 2-3 and the Red Hawks fall to 3-3.

Five players reached double digits in points for SVC, including freshman forward Deandre Kennedy-Ebron (Albany, NY/CBA), who had 13 points and 17 rebounds, to lead the way. Sophomore Lance Spratling (Pittsfield, MA/Taconic) scored a game-high 17 points with nine rebounds and three others had 11 points apiece.

The homestanding Red Hawks held a 62-61 lead with 6:18 remaining in the second half when the Mountaineers went on their 10-2 run, led by five points apiece by junior Joe Karnik (Castleton, NY/Maple Hill) and freshman Cameron Herrington (Cambridge, NY/Cambridge). Karnik, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, also had a rebound, a steal and an assist in the sequence, while Herrington added two rebounds and a steal. He finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

RPI, which shot just 29.3% in the second half, cut the deficit to two points twice but could not get even, including on a full-court inbounds pass that resulted in a missed jump shot from long range as the final buzzer sounded.

Rensselaer was paced by junior Ricky Philatre (Randolph, MA/Randolph), who had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Classmate Tim Rupp (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) scored a team-high 13 points with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals and Sam Simmons (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) added nine points and nine rebounds. With his sixth point, the senior forward became the 13th player in school history to surpass the 1,000-point mark. He now has 1,003 points in his career.

The Red Hawks return to the court on Saturday afternoon when they host Wentworth Institute of Technology at 3pm. SVC next plays on December 13 at 5pm at St. Joseph's of Brooklyn.