Falcons Drop Heartbreaker to SVC in ECAC Championship, 71-69

BANGOR, Maine – The third seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State University dropped a 71-69 decision to Southern Vermont College in the ECAC New England Championship game, hosted by Husson College this afternoon.

Southern Vermont was led offensively by junior DeShawn Hamlet with a game-best 18 points and nine caroms, while classmate William Bromirski, who was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player added 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field.

Junior Casey Hall was solid for the Mountaineers, collecting 13 points, eight boards, two assists, two steals and a pair of blocks, while sophomore Nate Goldsmith chipped in with 10 points and four rebounds in reserve time for Southern Vermont.

The Falcons were paced by junior Kwame Lee, who registered a double- double of 16 points and ten boards, while classmate Givaughn Jones posted 13 points, six boards and three assists. Sophomore Leonny Burgos  added to mix, notching a game-best five assists to accompany his ten points and two steals.

Fitchburg State recorded a 48.1 field goal percentage (26-of-54), while Southern Vermont was right behind at 41.3 percent (26-63). The Green and Gold saw a lot of success from three-point range, knocking down 9-of-19 attempts from beyond the arc (47.4 percent), while SVC hit on 6-of-16 long-range shots (37.5 percent). The Mountaineers owned a sizable 42-29 edge in rebounds, while also holding an 11-2 margin in second chance points.

Bromirski's first trey of the game put Southern Vermont on top 7-4 in the early going, but the Falcons answered with eight straight points to grab the upper hand (12-7) five minutes into the contest. Fitchburg State proceeded to heat up from beyond the arc, draining three shots from deep on consecutive trips down the floor as the Falcons were able to hold Southern Vermont scoreless in that time to take their biggest lead of the day at 23-12 with 10:52 to go in the first.

However, a Bromirski bucket from downtown started an 8-0 SVC run that closed the gap to 33-30 with just under three minutes to go in the period before Fitchburg State was able to get the last basket of the half for the 37-32 lead going to the break.

In the second half, the two team traded baskets as led the way for Southern Vermont, scoring nine of the Mountaineers first 11 points.  The hosts eventually knotted the score 46-46 at the 14:26 mark as Olugbile was able to finish off an and-one play, but a three-ball by junior Anthony Muccioli put Fitchburg State back on top.

A pair of successful Hamlet free throws put Southern Vermont ahead 70-62 with 1:43 left on the clock, but Fitchburg State refused to let the Mountaineers take the title that easily. Jones got a layup to go and the Falcons forced a Southern Vermont turnover to get the ball back as junior Keyon Armstrong sank a three-pointer to make it 70-67.

Fitchburg State kept up the defensive pressure, forcing a second Mountaineer turnover to cough the as Burgos made a steal and pass to Jones who finished the quick layup to get within one (70-69). Following a missed Mountaineer shot, Fitchburg State was sent to line for a pair of free-throws, but were unable to convert either attempt as were forced to foul on the ensuring rebound.

White went to the stripe for Southern Vermont and knocked down one of two shots from the charity strip to put the Mountaineers on top 71-69 with just three seconds to play. Fitchburg State had one last attempt, only to see Muccioli's buzzer-beating three-point attempt fall just short to secure the win for Southern Vermont.

Portions of release courtesy of Southern Vermont SID office