Story courtesy of Joseph Frey, Southern Vermont College Sports Information Director

BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College men’s basketball team put on yet another show, as it won its third game in a row blocking the visiting New England Collegiate Conference Lynx of Lesley University from victory in overtime 66-58 in the Field House Thursday night. The win gives SVC a sure spot in the NECC playoffs next week as it set a team record for blocks in a game with 15. It was senior day as the crowd cheered for forward Joe Karnik and guard Chris Holland, who played their last regular season game in the Field House.

The Mountaineers only shot 29% from the field in the first half and turned the ball over eight times as it found itself down 27-24 at the break. Karnik held it together with nine points and junior guard Lance Spratling had three monster blocks for SVC in the first half.

Southern Vermont regained the lead with 18:13 to go in the second half off of a layup by sophomore forward Ben Naaktgeboren. The layup sparked a 12-4 Mountaineer run that gave it a 10 point lead with 11:51 to go in regulation.

The Lynx quickly got in a groove and with a layup by senior guard Alex Green III it took the lead back 46-45 with 5:20 on the clock. After several ties in the closing minutes a layup by junior guard Thorton Paul gave Lesley the lead with 15 seconds remaining in the game. On the ensuing possession Spratling launched a triple that bounced off the rim and fell into the hands of Naaktgeboren who laid it in for two, tying the game at 54-54. The Lynx half-court attempt as time ran out was no good and sent the game into overtime.

Both teams were in the double-bonus with fouls heading into OT. The Lynx fell into trouble early after a jumper by sophomore guard Avery Mitchell and a triple by freshman guard Derrick Cenicola gave the Mountaineers a five point lead. Mitchell was clutch from the charity stripe in OT making four in the closing minutes, as Southern Vermont outscored the Lynx 12-4.

Spratling led all scorers with 23 points and 12 rebounds gave him a double-double. Karnik and Mitchell had 13 points and 10 points respectively for Southern Vermont. Naaktgeboren led all rebounders with 13 coming off the bench.

Paul led the Lynx with a team-high 14 points and Green III finished with 11. Sophomore guard John Sanchez had 13 points, eight assists, four steals, and shot a stellar 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.

SVC’s 15 blocks broke the all-time single game record held by the 2002-2003 team that had 13 against Suffolk University.

The win improves SVC to 8-15 (5-8 NECC), while Lesley falls to 7-17 overall (4-9 NECC). SVC now holds the fifth spot in the Conference and the Lynx fall to sixth place. Southern Vermont looks to make it four in a row Saturday, February 20th, when it heads to NECCs’ eighth seed Mitchell College for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off.