BENNINGTON, Vt. — Southern Vermont College knocked down five shots from beyond the arc in the second half Wednesday night to pull away and seal an 83-72 non-conference win over Vassar College at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.

The victory is the fifth straight for the Mountaineers as they head into the finals and holiday break with a 7-2 record and .778 winning percentage, the best for the program before the New Year since the 2002-03 SVC squad (.800) that was 4-1 after its fall semester schedule. VC falls to 3-5 on the season with the loss.

This is the first win for Southern Vermont over Vassar after the Brewers won the previous two meetings, the last being a 65-62 VC victory in the 2008-09 season.

SVC junior DeShawn Hamlet (Hartford, Connecticut) led the team with a double-double, his fourth straight for the Mountaineers; he recorded team-highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. Southern Vermont sophomore Nate Goldsmith (Seat Pleasant, Maryland) shot 6-for-8 from the field, including a 3-4 clip from three-point range, to finish with 15 points on the night.

Mountaineer junior guard William Bromirski (Cambridge, New York) added 14 points while notching three rebounds, two assists and two steals, the latter stats all coming in the first half. Junior captainAntoine White (Bethesda, Maryland) scored 10 points, and classmate Casey Hall (Albany, New York) chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds.

Four Brewer starters tallied at least 11 points with senior Curtis Smith (Mastic, New York) leading all players at 24. Classmate Alex Snyder (Rutland, Vermont) registered 14 points and 14 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, adding four assists and three blocks to his line. Junior Erikson Wasyl (Durham, Connecticut) and freshman Tony Caletti (Mill Valley, California) each scored 11 in the effort.

Vassar edged SVC in field goal percentage with a 51 percent line to the Mountaineer's 49.2, but Southern Vermont slighted VC in total baskets from the floor with a 29-59 clip to the Brewers' 25-51. SVC limited its giveaways to just 10 with Vassar turning those into 11 points; the Mountaineers used 10 steals to force the Brewers into 16 total turnovers, and the hosts converted the mishaps into 24 points on the night. Southern Vermont owned a 38-30 advantage on points in the paint while outscoring VC's bench 40-5.

SVC started the game with a pair of missed shots from long range, giving way for Smith to hit a couple of baskets for an early 5-0 Brewer advantage. That would be the biggest lead for the visitors all night, however, as Southern Vermont answered with a 7-2 run that tied the game with 16:25 to go in the first. The two sides started to then trade the lead and tie the game a handful of times with back-and-forth scoring action. A quick 6-0 Mountaineer run, capped by a made jumper by junior Jeff James (Bowie, Maryland), put SVC ahead 28-24, but Vassar responded to take a 34-33 advantage with 1:28 left on the clock. A Hamlet layup, followed by another by Hall with time expiring, put Southern Vermont on top for good with a 37-34 lead going into halftime.

The Mountaineers led at the break despite shooting only 43.8 percent from the floor while the Brewers hit 14-of-25 field goals for a 56 percent clip. Smith and Hamlet each had a game-best 12 points through the opening 20 minutes while Goldsmith had 10 with a 2-3 performance from deep.

Coming out of the locker room, Bromirski connected on two shots from downtown to bump the Mountaineers' lead to 43-37. SVC kept up the quick scoring and found itself with a 50-39 upper hand after senior captain Dolapo Olugbile (Laurel, Maryland) converted a free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play. A Caletti bucket from beyond the perimeter, followed by a Snyder free throw, cut the Southern Vermont lead to 54-48 with 12:19 to go, but the Mountaineers continued to hit shots to prevent the Brewers from using momentum for a game-changing run.

At the 9:34 mark, Wasyl hit a layup to make it a 56-51 ballgame, but a Goldsmith three-pointer finished a 7-0 Southern Vermont stretch that opened the lead back up. Vassar cut the deficit to nine (64-55) on a pair by Smith from the charity stripe, the closest the Brewers would get the rest of the way. The Mountaineers stayed efficient on the offensive side of things to keep their separation and end the semester's schedule with the 83-72 win.

SVC is now off until after the finals and holiday break, resuming play January 3 with a 3 p.m. home game against Bates College. The Brewers are also out of action until after the New Year, visiting Union College for an 8 p.m. tip on January 2 to begin Liberty League play.