TROY, N.Y. – Senior DeShawn Hamlet scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Southern Vermont College men's basketball team to a 68-57 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), in the Tri-State Shootout Championship Game, on Sunday at East Campus Arena. With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 7-2 overall, while the Engineers drop to 5-2.

Hamlet (Hartford, CT/Bulkeley) scored 13 of his points in the second half, helping Southern Vermont hold off a late surge from the host Engineers. For the game, he shot 8 for 15 from the field, with six rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks.

All eight RPI players which saw the floor, scored at least five points, including freshman Tom Horvat (Cranston, RI/Providence Country Day), who had 11, to go along with two rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocks. Senior Chase Almond (South Kingstown, RI/South Kingstown) had a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds.

The Mountaineers built a 32-20 first half lead, thanks to eight points from junior Nate Goldsmith (Capitol Heights, MD/Bowie), who was 3 for 6 from the field, including 2 for 3 from three-point range. Southern Vermont also capitalized on 17 first half turnovers by the Engineers, turning them into 16 points. RPI also shot just 30.8% (8 for 26), including 0 for 4 from distance.

Trailing by as many as 20 points (49-29) with under 13 minutes to play, the Engineers went on a 21-11 run, to cut the deficit in half with 3:29 to play. Almond led the charge during the stint, netting seven points, while freshman Andreas Kontopidis (Sherborn, MA/Dover-Sherborn) had five.

A lay-up by junior Jonathan Luster (Essex, CT/Valley Regional) was followed by a free throw and a Kontopidis bucket to draw the Engineers within 60-55 with 46 second remaining.
Hamlet answer with a three-point play, scoring a lay-up over RPI's full-court press to push the visitor advantage back to eight (63-55).

After Horvat made a runner from the elbow to draw within six (63-57), another deep pass to Hamlet put the game out of reach with just seconds remaining.

PROTECTING THE ROCK:
The Engineers turned the ball over 24 times, including 17 in the first half alone. Southern Vermont had 13 turnovers total.

BLOCK PARTY:                                                                          
RPI recorded nine blocks, while the Mountaineers had six. Freshman Marcus Giese had a game-high four for the Engineers.

WIRE TO WIRE:
Southern Vermont opened the game with a 9-0 run and never trailed in the game.

UP NEXT:
RPI is back on the court on December 29 and 30, when it travels to Rochester, N.Y., for the St. John Fisher Tournament. The Engineers will face Wilkes University to open the four-team competition.
Southern Vermont visits Bates on Monday (5:30pm).